Top Politicians Move Against CBN, Mobilise Lawmakers To Stop Naira Redesign

Reports have emerged claiming some top Nigerian politicians, who have stashed billions of Naira in various places to prosecute the 2023 general elections, have been making moves to halt the plans of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to reintroduce and redesign Nigeria’s currency.

Naija News reports that CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, had on October 26, announced the plan to redesign the Naira to control the money supply. According to him, the redesigned notes include N200, N500, and N1,000.

He stated that the new N200, N500, and N1,000 notes will go into circulation from December 15, while the current notes will cease to be legal tender by January 31, 2023.

It was gathered that the move was aimed at fighting corruption, checkmating money laundering, eliminating counterfeits, and ending the hoarding of the Naira by kidnappers and others.

This move by the CBN has thrown politicians and other individuals into confusion ahead of the 2023 general election, as reports claim that about 84 percent of the N12.73 trillion in circulation is outside the banking system, precisely in the hands of corrupt politicians, kidnappers, traders, and criminal elements.

According to This Day, politicians in confusion over the CBN’s move have started mobilizing members of the National Assembly to pass a resolution against the Naira redesign.

Many of the politicians who have perfected plans of rigging next year’s election through vote-buying and had stock-pilled the Naira in their houses, offices and other hidden places, plan to ambush this apex bank’s initiative, which has received accolades from President Muhammadu Buhari and financial and economic experts.

Lawmakers disclosed to the publication that these politicians want the National Assembly to pass a resolution directing the CBN to shift the Naira redesign till after the 2023 general election.

“These politicians are believed to have kept large amounts of cash in their houses and other hidden places and they believe that three months will be too short for them to return these funds to the banks without being indicted by the EFCC for money laundering and other related crimes,” one of the sources told THISDAY.

Naija News understands that the CBN can only resist any moves by federal lawmakers to truncate the deployment of this monetary tool if President Buhari strongly backs the institution.