Emefiele Says The Redesign Of The Naira Has Reduced Kidnapping 

The previous N200, N500, and N1,000 notes will cease to be valid on January 31, 2023, according to Emefiele of the CBN.

By Omotayo Olutekunbi

Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, claims that the redesign of certain naira notes has helped to reduce abduction and ransom demands in the nation.

Emefiele made this statement on January 24, 2023, following the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the top bank in Abuja.

He emphasized that the CBN will not extend the expiration date for the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes, which is January 31, 2023.

“Truly speaking, at the margin, I may be wrong, I think kidnapping and ransom-taking have somehow reduced. Security agents are doing a fantastic job.

“I think it (naira redesign) has slowed those people down because they know that if they collect old notes, nobody is going to collect it from them. So, it might as well as think of other ways,” he said.

Speaking on the hike in interest rates, Emefiele stated that the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) was raised from 16.5% to 17.5 percent in order to curb inflation.

He said that certain Nigerians were hoarding money and added that it was illegal for any Nigerian to set up a personal bank vault.

The amount of cash in circulation in the country increased from N1.4 trillion to N3.2 trillion in only seven years, he continued.

Emefiele said: “There is no reason why currency in circulation will grow from N1.4 trillion to N3.2 trillion in seven years.

“People are hoarding it, people are keeping vaults in their homes. We cannot allow them to be banks in their homes; they don’t have the license to build bank vaults in their homes.

“They should release that money back to CBN because what they are doing is that they are undermining monetary policy. They are keeping it and speculating against our currency and it is making our work difficult in CBN.”

He asserts that the CBN employs 1.4 million agents nationally to exchange old naira notes for new ones in upland and riverine communities.