By Aminu Kutama
The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, on Friday disclosed that the Central Bank of Nigeria did not consult her ministry before taking the decision to redesign Naira notes by December.
She made the disclosure during the budget debate of the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning in Abuja.
The Minister said even though one of the reasons for the decision is to manage inflation, consequences are sure to follow.
“We were not consulted. It was an announcement that we heard. Part of the reasons that was advocated is that it is one of the ways to mop up the liquidity to manage inflation.
“But there are also consequences – we are looking at what the consequences will be. There will be some benefits but there will be some challenges,” she warned.
Speaking further, she added, “And I don’t know whether the monetary authorities have actually looked very closely at what the consequences and how they will mitigate it.”
Recall that CBN Governor Emefiele had on Wednesday said that the apex bank would redesign the country’s currency from 200 Naira denomination to N1,000 notes.
Emefiele said the action was taken in order to take control of the currency in circulation just as he posited that the bulk of the nation’s currency notes were outside bank vaults and that the CBN would not allow the situation to continue.
