Claims of a lack of capacity to print currency are refuted by CBN and MINT.
by Elizabeth Adegbesan and Emma Ujah
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has refuted allegations that its Governor, Godwin Emefiele, blamed the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc's (NSPC) lack of printing supplies for the difficulties in distributing the redesigned naira notes (NSPM).
The CBN also denied accusations that the governor had threatened to shut down a number of Deposit Money Banks, or DMBs.
Similarly, NSPM, commonly known as MINT, disregarded claims that it lacked the capacity and banknote substrate, asserting that it had made arrangements to keep making notes in Nigeria.
In a statement released yesterday, the apex bank noted that the CBN Governor never disclosed these during his presentation to the National Council of State at its meeting on Friday. The statement was signed by the CBN's director of corporate communications, Mr. Osita Nwanisobi.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued the following statement: "The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been made aware of a report that misquoted the Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, as attributing the current difficulty in the distribution of the newly redesigned naira banknotes to a shortage of printing materials at the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc.
The CBN Governor never mentioned this during his presentation to the National Council of State at its meeting on February 10, 2023, we want to make that clear.
For the record, Mr. Emefiele stated at the meeting that the NSPMC was striving to print all Naira denominations to satisfy Nigerians' transaction demands.
"The CBN acknowledges the concerns expressed by all parties over the distribution of the Naira, but we are disturbed at the extent to which special interests are attempting to distort the truth and turn the people against the Bank.
For the avoidance of doubt, the CBN continues to be committed to carrying out its monetary policy duties in accordance with the CBN Act, 2007, as amended.
"We also want to reiterate that the NSPMC has the capability and resources to generate the necessary Naira indent.
As we diligently seek to expand the circulation of the new notes in the country, the Bank consequently wishes to appeal to the public to dismiss the abovementioned report and exercise more restraint.
Similar to this, a false voice note that is currently viral on social media claims that the CBN planned to close some banks, notably in a specific geopolitical area of the nation.
"We want to make it clear that there is no such scheme and that the accusations are absurd and inconsistent with how the Nigerian banking sector operates.
The public is therefore encouraged to disregard such recordings since they do not reflect the CBN's policy objectives and are instead the last-ditch efforts of those determined to incite the public against the Bank.
We are prepared to meet demand for new notes – MINT
NSPM stated that it was ready to accommodate the demand for fresh Naira notes.
In a statement, it denied media reports that said paper substrate was being supplied by De-la-Rue of the UK. The business also refuted claims that it was having difficulties printing the new Naira notes.
"The Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc (NSPM) has been drawn to some publications allegedly credited to the Central Bank Governor about the capacity of NSPM to continue the production of the redesigned bank notes, due to supply chain constraints," the statement signed by the MINT's managing director, Ahmed Hahlilu, states.
While the CBN has refuted the untrue assertion, it seems necessary to note that, in contrast to the malicious assertion, De-la-Rue of the United Kingdom neither produces nor supplies paper substrates for the currency industry.
"We further want to reassure Nigerians that NSPM has put in place sufficient arrangements to continually create the intended bank notes as well as further denominations, in line with the CBN.indent for 2023," the statement continued.