The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised alarm over what it called fake news merchants, trying to clash it with Nigerian public on the redesigned naira notes.
The apex bank said that while it appreciates the concerns shown by all stakeholders about the distribution of the Naira, “we are alarmed at the extent to which vested interests are attempting to manipulate facts and pitch the public against the Bank.”
In a statement today, February 11, reacting to what it described as false claims about the capacity of NSPMC Plc, and alleged threats to close some Deposit Money Banks, the Director of Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi said that for the avoidance of doubt, the CBN remains committed to performing its monetary policy functions, as stipulated in the CBN Act, 2007, as amended.
“We also wish to restate that the NSPMC has the capacity and enough materials to
produce the required indent of the Naira.
The statement complained about the misleading, misquoting the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, as attributing the current challenge in the distribution of the newly redesigned naira banknotes to a shortage of printing materials at the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc.
“We wish to state categorically that at no time did the CBN Governor disclose
this during his presentation to the National Council of State at its meeting on
Friday, February 10, 2023.
“For the records, what Mr. Emefiele told the meeting was that the NSPMC was
working on printing all denominations of the Naira to meet the transaction needs
of Nigerians.
“While the CBN appreciates the concerns shown by all stakeholders about the
distribution of the Naira, we are alarmed at the extent to which vested interests
are attempting to manipulate facts and pitch the public against the Bank.
For the avoidance of doubt, the CBN remains committed to performing its
monetary policy functions, as stipulated in the CBN Act, 2007, as amended. We
also wish to restate that the NSPMC has the capacity and enough materials to
produce the required indent of the Naira.
“The Bank, therefore, wishes to appeal to the public to disregard the said report
and exercise more restraint, even as we work assiduously to increase the
circulation of the new notes in the country.
“Similarly, there is a misleading voice note trending in social media alleging that
the CBN planned to shut down some banks, particularly in a particular geo-
political region of the country.
“We wish to state unequivocally that there is no such plan and that the claims
are illogical and do not comply with the workings of the Nigerian banking
system. The public is therefore advised to ignore such recordings as they do
not represent the policy thrust of the CBN and are only the desperate attempts
of persons bent on inciting the public against the Bank.”
