President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday said that the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to launch new designs and replace high-value Naira notes has his support.
President Buhari in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu said he was convinced that the nation will gain a lot by doing so.
Speaking in a Hausa radio interview with the famous journalist Halilu Ahmed Getso, and Kamaluddeen Sani Shawai to be aired Wednesday Morning on Tambari TV on Nilesat, President Buhari said reasons given to him by the CBN convinced him that the economy stood to benefit from a reduction in inflation, currency counterfeiting and the excess cash in circulation.
He said he did not consider the period of three months for the change to the new notes as being short.
According to him, ”People with illicit money buried under the soil will have a challenge with this but workers, businesses with legitimate incomes will face no difficulties at all.”
The statement further said that President Buhari In the interview, also addressed issues of food security and national security, among others.
Recalled that the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, had last week told the Senate Committee on Finance, that she was not consulted over the decision by the CBN,
warning that the new notes could have dire consequences on the value of the Naira.
Responding to a question posed by the Chairman of the Committee, Opayemi Bamidele, the Finance Minister, who stressed that she was airing her personal opinion, said that the CBN did not carry her Ministry along in its plan to redesign and roll out new N200, N500 and N1000 notes from effective December 15.
The minister, who clarified that her position was a personal opinion, said she and her Ministry were not aware of the policy but only heard of it from the media.