Reps Propose Using Coins To Combat Inflation 

The Nigerian House of Representatives has asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to make coins legal tender.

By Omotayo Olutekunbi

The usage of coins, according to legislators, will combat price inflation and stabilise the economy.

The call was made by the House of Representatives during a plenary session in Abuja on Tuesday, March 22, 2022.

The lawmakers want the “use of coins as a legal tender and ensure that Banks comply with the use of coins to the fullest.”

Muda Umar, a legislator representing Toro Federal Constituency in Bauchi State, proposed the resolution.

According to Umar, the absence of coins has had a significant influence on the country’s regular economic dealings.

“Despite the huge budgetary sum that was expended by the federal government in the production of coins as part of the legal tender, the said coins seem to be extinct at the moment,” Umar said.

“The day to day business transactions of ordinary Nigerians have been significantly affected as the lack of coins and other lower denominations have resulted in prices being summed up to the nearest naira equivalent, a situation that can best be described as inflation in economic terms.

“While other countries make use of coins for their daily financial transactions, the Nigerian coins comprising 50 kobo, N1 and N2 have not been fully utilised in that regard. Injecting low denominations and coins into the economy will go a long way in curbing price inflation and stabilising the economy.”

Nigerian naira coins have not been in circulation for almost a decade.

The CBN last produced new coins in 2007, with the highest naira denomination in coin being N2. The 1 and 50 kobo coins, which were introduced in 1991, were reprinted in fresh designs that year.

In 1991, 1:50 kobo, 25 kobo, 10 kobo, and 1 kobo coins were introduced, while 1/2 kobo and 5 kobo coins were phased out.

In 2007, the 1 kobo, 10 kobo, and 25 kobo coins were phased out.