Governors Invite Emefiele to Emergency Meeting Over Naira Redesigning

Governors of the 36 states of the federation have invited the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to an emergency meeting in Abuja on the recent policy of redesigning the Naira Notes.

The meeting according to a statement signed on behalf of the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and the Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, by the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) Director General, Mr Asishana Bayo Okauru, will be a virtual one on Thursday.

The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele announced the initial decision of the apex Bank to redesign the Naira note, on October 26, 2022.

The CBN subsequently urged Nigerians not to wait until January 31, 2023, to get the new notes.

On the virtual meeting, the agenda is titled “The Economic and Security implications of naira redesign and withdrawal policy.”

Okauru said that the meeting will lead to a discussion expected to foster participation and dialogue between various stakeholders including governments and civil society organizations.

While the deadline set by the apex bank moves closer, there are concerns that the available redesigned denominations of the currency, that is N1,000, N500 and N200, in circulation are not enough to replace the old notes.

Cash access points such as Point of Sale (PoS), automated teller machines (ATMs) and bank counters continue to pump old notes into circulation.