CBN Insists No Plan to Redenominate Naira

•Says reports speculative, calculated to cause panic

James Emejo in Abuja

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has emphasised that it does not intend to redenominate or restructure the country’s legal tender, the naira.

The refutal came against the backdrop of a widely circulated text message suggesting that the bank plans to phase out the existing banknotes by January 2024.

However, in a statement issued by the CBN Director, Corporate Communications, Dr. Isa AbdulMumin, the apex bank described the reports as speculative and calculated to cause panic in the polity.

The central bank stated that it was particularly worried that the ensuing narrative, which had previously been refuted, appeared to be gaining traction with several debates on the implication of such policy for the Nigerian economy.

The CBN director said, “We wish to reiterate that the contents of the message are misleading. The authors of the message, in their mischief, modified text eked from an old policy move by a previous CBN Governor in 2007 to make it appear recent.

“For the avoidance of doubt, there is currently no plan by the bank to restructure and redenominate the naira.

“Whilst the bank may be considering reforms, such are subject to laid down procedures in line with the provisions of the CBN Act, 2007.

“The public is hereby advised to ignore the news report, as it is speculative and calculated to cause panic in the polity.”

Earlier in May, the CBN had denied insinuations that it planned to withdraw the recently redesigned N1000, N500 and N200 currency denominations from circulation.

The central bank’s clarification had followed the circulation of fake news particularly on social media that it was considering phasing out the banknotes that were scarce.