Former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele
Eko Hot Blog reports that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reacted to reports that the apex bank’s governor, Godwin Emefiele, said that a shortage of printing materials at the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC) has affected the distribution of the new naira notes.
Emefiele had on Friday briefed the Council of State on the current efforts of the CBN to fix the cash shortage crisis.
Some media reports claimed that the CBN governor told the council that the NSPMC had limited capacity to print enough banknotes.
However, the apex bank has described such reports as misleading.
In a statement issued by the CBN spokesperson, Osita Nwanisobi, on Saturday, the bank said Emefiele told the council that the NSPMC was working on printing all denominations of the naira to meet the needs of Nigerians without any mention of capacity.
The apex bank noted that the minting company has enough capacity to print the required quantity of banknotes.
“The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to a misleading report misquoting the Governor, Mr. 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,” the statement reads.
“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 m ore restraint, even as we work assiduously to increase the circulation of the new notes in the country.”
The CBN also denied claims that it is planning to shut down some banks in a certain geopolitical zone.
“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 geopolitical region of the country,” the statement stated.
“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.”
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