Mr. Folashodun Adebisi Shonubi
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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reacted to the Social Media dominated reports on Naira redenomination amid high inflation in the West African country.
The CBN, in its reaction, denied plans to re-denominate the naira, saying that a statement credited to it on the issue on various social media and online platforms (not on this media platform) was fake.
Messages making the rounds on social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook claim that the CBN plans to introduce a new naira policy that will see the naira being redenominated.
However, the apex bank yesterday said, the message currently circulating on social media is false and should be disregarded.
The CBN, in 2007, under Professor Chukwuma Soludo as Governor of the apex bank, had mulled the idea of re-denominating the naira but the policy never saw the light of day after late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua rejected the proposal.
The currency re-denominating plan was part of a four point agenda in 2007 to make the Naira the ‘Reference Currency in Africa,’ as part of the Financial System Strategy 2020 (FSS2020).
Currency redenomination is the process where a new unit of money replaces the old unit with a certain ratio. It is achieved by removing zeros from a currency or moving some decimal points to the left, with the aim of correcting perceived misalignment in the currency and pricing structure, and enhancing the credibility of the local currency.
Some online reports had claimed that the apex bank planned to redenominate the currency such that $1 will equal N1.25 by November 2023.
The report had claimed, “The name of the national currency will still be the Naira. However, during the transition period, the existing Naira will be referred to as the “Old Naira”, and the new one to be called the ‘New Naira.
“After the transition period, the word ‘New’ may be dropped. For example, the following equivalents will obtain as we re-denominate: 50 kobo Half kobo; N1 = 1 kobo coin; N2 = 2 kobo coin; N5 = 5 kobo coin; N10 = 10 kobo coin; N20 = 20 kobo coin; N50 = 50 kobo coin or note; N100 = N 1 note; N200 = N2 note; N500 = N5 note; N1,000 = N10 note and the N2,000 = N20 note.”
But the CBN labeled the report as “fake news” adding that there are no such plans to redenominate the currency.
The apex bank said, “The Central Bank of Nigeria would like to bring to your attention that the attached message currently circulating on social media is false and should be disregarded.”
The report claimed that the CBN was planning to execute the policy to drive down prices amidst the country’s rising inflation.
The CBN under the Acting Governor, Folashodun Shonubi on June 14 2023, reintroduced the ‘Willing buyer, willing seller’ foreign exchange model and floated the currency.
The apex bank also unified the forex market along the Investors’ and Exporters’ Forex window now the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market.
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