The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria to suspend its Naira redesign policy indefinitely
This was disclosed in a statement on Sunday by the Director of CPPE, Muda Yusuf, pointing out the ten-point agenda for the newly appointed governor of CBN, Olayemi Cardoso.
On October 26, the apex bank announced Naira redesign policy, with the January 31 proposed deadline to withdraw N200, N500 and N1000 old naira notes.
Consequently, Nigerians experienced naira scarcity in the first quarter of 2023 following the Naira redesign policy implementation.
On March 8, the Supreme Court intervened, ordering an extension of the deadline for old N200, N500, and N1000 withdrawals till December 31, 2023.
Yusuf urged Cardoso to suspend the policy indefinitely because there is no compelling argument for its implementation.
He observed that the momentum for a cashless economy should be sustained without resorting to the crude methodology of cash confiscation.
He said, “The naira redesign policy should be suspended indefinitely. It should not be a priority at this time. There was no compelling argument to undertake the naira redesign in the first place.
“The approach was disruptive and inflicted unbearable hardships on businesses and the citizens.
“Economic activities need not be disrupted to achieve a reduction in cash transactions in the economy.
“Indeed, Nigeria has one of the best rankings in cash dominance metrics. Cash as a percentage of GDP in Nigeria is one of the lowest globally at less than 2 per cent. For many other developing countries, the percentage is as high as 10 per cent.”
