•As currency outside banks increased by N108.67bn to N2.84trn in October
BY GODDY OBINWA
Damaged Naira notes continue to surface following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) redesign of the nation’s currency unveiled by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday, November 23, 2022.
But in a video making rounds on social media, bags of damaged naira notes were uncovered at a warehouse in an unknown location at the time of this publication.
The Nigerian currency was stashed in multiple bags for a long period in humid condition leading to its deterioration and decay.
The individuals seen in the video examined each bag with the hopes of seeing untampered notes, but all were already bad.
Meanwhile, in the lead the (CBN) effort to redesign N200, N500, and N1,000 notes currently in circulation, money outside the banking system added N108.67billion to N2.84 trillion in October 2022 from N2.73 trillion in September, its money and credit statistics has revealed.
According to the apex bank’s data, currency outside the banks appreciated by 11.07 per cent Year-on-Year (YoY) from N2.54 trillion reported in corresponding period of 2021.
The money and credit statistics revealed that currency outside banks hit the highest record of N2.84trillion in October. While defending its decision to redesign the Naira, the apex bank in October expressed that some individuals were stockpiling huge amounts of cash outside the banking system.
CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, had in a statement said, “Significant hoarding of banknotes by members of the public, with statistics showing that over 85 per cent of currency in circulation are outside the vaults of commercial banks.
“To be more specific, as at the end of September 2022, available data at the CBN indicate that N2.73 trillion out of the N3.23 trillion currency in circulation, was outside the vaults of Commercial Banks across the country; and supposedly held by the public.
“Evidently, currency in circulation has more than doubled since 2015; rising from N1.46 trillion in December 2015 to N3.23 trillion in September 2022. This is a worrisome trend that cannot be allowed to continue.”
The statistics revealed that currency-in-circulation (CIC) grew YoY by 11.22 per cent to N3.3 trillion in October 2022 from N2.97 trillion in 2021.
Analyst and President, Bank Customers Association of Nigeria (BCAN), Dr. Uju Ogubunka attributed the increasing CIC to politicians’ spending towards the 2023 primary elections
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