After weeks of unveiling the new N5000 banknote which brought protest and controversies with it, the President has directed that the currency restructuring be halted.
Obviously bowing to pressure from the public and particularly the National Assembly, whose leadership met with him of Tuesday on the issue, President Goodluck Jonathan Thursday in Abuja directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stop further action on the proposed currency restructuring exercise, including the introduction of the N5,000 banknote.
The president’s directive was in stark contrast to the position of the Federal Government two weeks ago when it gave its full backing to the CBN’s currency restructuring plan, termed Project Cure, and gave assurances that the planned introduction of the N5,000 banknote would not induce inflation.
In a statement issued by the CBN Director, Corporate Communications, Ugochukwu Okoroafor, last night, the banking system regulator said that in compliance with the CBN Act, 2007, it had proposed and obtained the approval of the president to embark on the currency restructuring exercise on December 19, 2011.
It added that in full compliance with the provisions of the law, further action on the said restructuring exercise has been stopped, until such a time that the president may direct otherwise.
The central bank stressed that till date, no contract has been awarded whatsoever by the CBN in connection with the minting and printing of the new coins and notes.
“Consequently, no currency note or coin has been printed or minted under the proposed exercise,” the CBN said.
In line with its mandate, the CBN said it remained committed to the pursuit of policies and programmes aimed at the growth and development of the Nigerian economy.
However, since the new currency structure was announced almost a month ago, it has been widely criticised and condemned by several sections of the public.
No comments:
Post a Comment