The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has denied reports claiming that the Governor of the apex bank, Godwin Emefiele, said the current challenge in the distribution of the newly redesigned naira banknotes is due to a shortage of printing materials at the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc.
Some reports in a section of the media claimed Emefiele said this during his presentation to the National Council of State at its meeting on Friday, February 10, 2023.
The apex bank said contrary to what is being reported, Emefiele told the Council meeting that the NSPMC was working on printing all denominations of the Naira to meet the transaction needs of Nigerians.
A statement released by Osita Nwanisobi, Director, Corporate Communications of the CBN, reads in part;
??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 lso 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.
The apex bank also reacted to a misleading voice note trending on social media alleging that the CBN planned to shut down some banks in a particular geopolitical 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” the statement reads.