On Friday, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), the President, urged Nigerians to give him seven days to solve the cash crunch caused by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s policy of replacing high-value naira notes with new ones.
Buhari stated that the currency re-design would boost the economy and provide long-term benefits when he spoke to the Progressive Governors’ Forum, who paid him a visit at the Presidential Villa to seek solutions to the cash crunch that, according to them, threatened the administration’s good record in transforming the economy. He questioned the dedication of banks, in particular, to the policy’s success. According to the President, “even if a year is added, problems associated with selfishness and greed won’t go away” because “some banks are inefficient and only concerned about themselves.”
He promised that the remaining seven days of the 10-day extension would be used to crack down on anything that stood in the way of the plan’s successful implementation, stating that he had seen television reports about cash shortages and the difficulties faced by local businesses and the general public.
I’ll return to the CBN and the minting firm. According to a statement released by his spokesman, Garba Shehu, the President was quoted as saying, “There will be a decision in the remaining seven days of the 10-day extension. There will be a decision either way.”
The governors informed the President that, despite the fact that they agreed that his decision to redesign the currency was good and that they supported it wholeheartedly, its implementation had been a disaster and their constituents were becoming more and more enraged.
They informed the President that as governors and party leaders in their respective states, they were becoming concerned about an economic downturn and the upcoming elections.
They asked the President to use his authority to control how the new and old notes would grow simultaneously until the end of the year.
According to the President, when he was considering whether or not to approve the policy, he asked the CBN to promise that no new notes would be printed in a foreign country. In return, the CBN promised that there was enough capacity, staff, and equipment to print the currency for local needs. He stated that he needed to return to discover the truth.
Because he was closer to the people, Buhari told the governors that he had heard their screams and would act to find a solution.