The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, has stated she knew nothing about the recent decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) to redesign some naira notes.
She spoke barely 48 hours after CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele announced that the redesigned notes would become official legal tenders by December 15, 2022.
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The Minister, who commented on the policy in response to a question by Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC – Ekiti Central) during 2023 budget defence session with the Senate Committee on Finance, warned the CBN of consequences that may arise from it.
Just two days after the announcement of the policy, the value of the Naira to a US dollar has risen from N740 to N788 to a US dollar due to rush in exchange of stashed Naira notes for foreign currencies, particularly the U.S. dollar.
“To me, the policy may be a well conceived one, but the timing going by the realities on ground, is very wrong as the Naira may fall to as low as N1,000 to a US dollar before January 31, 2023 fixed for full implementation of the policy,” he said.
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