Naira: What CBN will do to ease cash crunch

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) may print the N200, N500 and N1,000 new Naira currency abroad, to ease the cash crunch being experienced in the country.

POLITICS NIGERIA reports that Nigerians have had a hard time getting the new notes amid scarcity and rising tension across the country, forcing the apex bank to extend the deadline by 10 days. The deadline lapsed on Friday.

The CBN may bow to mounting pressure and contract the printing of the redesigned N1,000, N500 and N200 notes to foreign contractors in the coming days in order to boost the circulation of the currency.

This newspaper gathered that this had become imperative as sources said the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Plc, which had been responsible for the printing of the naira, appeared to lack the capacity to meet the demand for the new notes.

This is as the Council of State asked the CBN to make new notes available or re-circulate the old ones.

This newspaper understands that the Mint, the Nigerian banknote printer, had succeeded in printing N500bn worth of the new N1,000, N500 and N200 notes and might not have the capacity to do more than that at the moment.

An ex-CBN official said, “As it is now, the CBN may have little or no choice but to contract the printing of the new N1,000, N500 and N200 notes to foreign contractors in order to make the new notes go round the country quickly and save the nation the embarrassment caused by the current scarcity and its attendant consequences.”