THE Governor of the
Central Bank of Nigeria,
Malam Lamido Sanusi,
stirred another round
of controversies on
Thursday, August 23,
2012 when he
announced the bank’s
intention to introduce
a mega-value N5,000
currency note in
addition to large-scale
redesigning and
restructuring of our
currencies.
According to Sanusi,
come some time early
next year, in addition
to the new N5,000
note, the existing N50,
N100, N200, N500 and
N1,000 notes “will be
redesigned with added
new security features”
with improved security
features which will
make them more user-
friendly to visually-
impaired persons,
while the lower
denominations will be
turned into coins.
According to him, the
N5,000 note will be
used to honour the
contributions of
women to the struggle
for Nigeria’s
independence; our
founding mothers,
foremost of whom are
Margaret Ekpo,
Funmilayo Ransome-
Kuti and Gambo
Sawaba.
There have been
uproarious protests,
especially from the
opposition political
parties such as the
Action Congress of
Nigeria (ACN), the
Congress for
Progressive Change
(CPC) and other
members of the public,
including economists.
They are worried that
the new N5,000 note
will worsen the
inflationary rate,
exacerbate the already
endemic corruption in
the system and
generally negate the
noble objective of the
“Cashless Policy”, which
is still struggling for
acceptance in its
experimental stage.
The critics also posit
that reintroducing
coins which have
proved no longer
popular in Nigeria
might simply force
market retailers to peg
N50 as the lowest
acceptable legal
tender.
Out of concern over the
chaotic situation this
has created, the Senate
has stepped in,
ordering the CBN to
suspend action until a
proper parliamentary
inquest is conducted
into it.
The Chairman of the
Senate Committee on
Banking, Insurance and
other Financial
Institutions, Senator
Bassey Edet Otu, said
there was a need for
parliament’s approval
of the project before it
can go forward due to
“the numerous fiscal
implications on the
entire economy.”
We support this move
by the Senate in its
entirety.
Even though the CBN
has wide ranging
powers to regulate
monetary issues,
including currency
administration, it is
important for it to
carry Nigerians along
with it to avoid the
confusion and
complaints of impunity
that trailed earlier CBN
interventions,
particularly the take-
over of ailing banks
and unexplained
sourcing of N620
billion to bolster them
up in the process of
turning them into
“bridge banks”.
Power given to
institutions of
government is for the
benefit of Nigerians
and not to be wielded
for its own sake.
Nigerians must be
allowed to participate
in the public hearing
that will ensue in the
Senate and House of
Reps, when this matter
is considered to
determine if we really
need it, some of it or
none of it.
www.vanguardngr.com/2012/08/the-new-n5000-note-controversy/