We have materials to print more new notes – CBN

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said it has the capacity and materials to print new currency notes amid a shortage of cash in the country.

Multiple reports quoted the apex bank’s Governor Godwin Emefiele as admitting that the CBN does not have enough materials to print the new naira notes.

But the Bank has debunked the claims, assuring Nigerians that the CBN will meet the country’s cash demands in the wake of the currency redesign policy.

“For the records, what Mr. Emefiele told the meeting was that the NSPMC was working on printing all denominations of the Naira to meet the transaction needs of Nigerians,” the Bank’s Director of Corporate Communications Osita Nwanisobi, said in a Saturday statement.

“While the CBN appreciates the concerns shown by all stakeholders about the distribution of the Naira, we are alarmed at the extent to which vested interests are attempting to manipulate facts and pitch the public against the Bank. For the avoidance of doubt, the CBN remains committed to performing its monetary policy functions, as stipulated in the CBN Act, 2007, as amended. We also wish to restate that the NSPMC has the capacity and enough materials to produce the required indent of the Naira.”

The CBN also dispelled reports that it wants to shut down some banks in the country.

“We wish to state unequivocally that there is no such plan and that the claims are illogical and do not comply with the workings of the Nigerian banking system,” the statement further read.

“The public is therefore advised to ignore such recordings as they do not represent the policy thrust of the CBN and are only the desperate attempts of persons bent on inciting the public against the Bank.”