CBN Governor has confirmed the launch date of the new Naira note

The Governor Of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has confirmed the 23rd of November 2022 is the launch date for unveiling the new Naira note, as against the earlier announcement of the 15th of December 2022.

Speaking in a briefing to the media at the monetary policy communique which held today, the Governor told the attendees that the President himself, Muhammadu Buhari, will unveil the new naira notes and the FEC chambers by 10 am tomorrow.

The President who gave his support to launch the new currency design, said the central bank’s plan to replace high-value currency notes will help the economy deal with currency counterfeiting, excess cash in circulation and address inflation, which climbed to a 17-year high in September.

The central bank said it would redesign naira notes to have control of the amount of currency in circulation, and to enable it manage inflation and tackle counterfeiting.

“These challenges primarily include: Significant hoarding of banknotes by members of the public, with statistics showing that over 85 percent of currency in circulation are outside the vaults of commercial banks,” CBN governor Godwin Emefiele had said.

“To be more specific, as at the end of September 2022, available data at the CBN indicate that N2.73 Trillion out of the N3.23 trillion currency in circulation, was outside the vaults of Commercial Banks across the country; and supposedly held by the public.

“Evidently, currency in circulation has more than doubled since 2015; rising from N1.46 trillion in December 2015 to N3.23 trillion in September 2022. This is a worrisome trend that cannot be allowed to continue.”

Mr. Emefiele also insisted that there is no going back on the January 31st data of ensuring all old currencies lose their legal tender status. Mr. Emefiele also said he is relying on their law to push this policy forward.

He also thanked Buhari for his support over the last seven and a half years and singled out the president’s support for the new naira policy which he has backed twice in comments to the media.