President Muhammadu Buhari says there will be no going back on the planned redesign of the N1,000, N500, and N200 bank notes, and that politicians will not be permitted to mobilize resources and thugs to frighten voters in the general elections in 2023.
The President stated this during an interview in the United Kingdom on Wednesday, following a visit with His Royal Majesty, King Charles III, at Buckingham Palace.
Buhari also stated that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has given Nigerians adequate time to deposit their current naira notes in banks in exchange for the fresh redesigned ones that would be produced by December 15, 2022.
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“On this change of currency, there will be a lot of money but time has been given from October to December, three months is enough for whatever money you have, to get it changed through the legal system.
“So, I don’t know why people are complaining about it,” the President said.
He also said the policy announced by the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele on October 26, 2022 has come to stay.
“No going back,” Buhari said of the decision to redesign the three naira notes.
“My aim is to make sure that Nigerians believe that we respect them as an administration.
“So, Nigerians should vote for whoever they like from whichever political party. Nobody will be allowed to mobilise resources and thugs to intimidate people in any constituency. That is what I want to go down in Nigerian history for as a leader.”
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According to the CBN governor, the new and existing currencies would remain legal tender and circulate alongside each other until January 31, 2023.
Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of Finance, later stated that the CBN did not consult her ministry before making the decision, and she warned that there will be consequences.
Though the CBN stated that the redesigned notes were issued in accordance with due process, experts predicted that the move would increase demand for foreign currencies as money launderers, ransom-taking kidnappers, and those who had naira notes stashed in their homes would flood the parallel market in exchange for dollars and pounds.
During the dispute between the finance minister and the apex bank, Buhari stated that he supported the effort to redesign the three notes. Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu in a statement said the “reasons given to him by the CBN convinced him that the economy stood to benefit from the reduction in inflation, currency counterfeiting and the excess cash in circulation”.
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However, the Peoples Democratic Party and several prominent Nigerians, notably Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki and the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, have criticized the government’s policy, claiming it lacks economic foundation.
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