The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) did not consult her ministry before concluding to redesign naira notes by December.
Ahmed disclosed this during a debate at the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning in Abuja on Friday.
According to her, consequences would trail the CBN’s decision even though one of the reasons to redesign the naira is to manage inflation.
“We were not consulted. It was an announcement that we heard. Part of the reason that was advocated is that it is one of the ways to mop up the liquidity to manage inflation.
“But there are also consequences – we are looking at what the consequences will be. There will be some benefits but there will be some challenges.
“And I don’t know whether the monetary authorities have actually looked very closely at what the consequences and how they will mitigate it,” she added.
CBN had announced its plans to redesign and reissue naira notes including N200, N500 and N1000 notes that shall be in circulation BY December 15, 2022
In a press briefing last week, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele said the apex bank had earned approval from President Muhammadu Buhari to revamp the naira notes in a bid to tackle challenges of currency management which have negatively impacted the country’s monetary policy and security imperatives.
