The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, -EFCC, has lauded the move by the Central Bank of Nigeria, -CBN, to redesign and reissue the higher denominations of the Naira note.
At a press briefing on Wednesday, October 26, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele announced that the apex bank had obtained the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari to redesign and issue new N200, N500, and N1000 currency notes that will be in circulation by the 15th of December, 2022.
This announcement has come with mixed reviews, with one of the reviews coming from the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa.
Bawa had described the apex bank’s plan as a well-considered and timely response’ to the challenges of currency management, currently impacting the country’s monetary policy negatively.
He then urged operators in the Nigerian financial services sector, including the deposit money banks and bureau de change operators to work within the guidelines provided by the CBN to ensure the seamless withdrawal of the old currency.
The EFCC chairman had, however, cautioned citizens, saying that the EFCC will monitor the process to ensure that dubious players and currency speculators do not undermine the exercise. He also charged banks to be vigilant in their obligations and not assist unscrupulous customers in laundering suspected proceeds of crimes through their banking system.
Optimistic that the new currency measure would further boost the banking culture of Nigeria and encourage more cashless transactions, Bawa recalled that the Crimes Commission had recently taken operational action against currency hoarders in several major commercial cities of Nigeria.
