The Central Bank of Nigeria has refuted the alleged threat to close some deposit banks due to naira scarcity.
In a statement, the apex bank's Director of Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi, stated that there was no such plan, noting that the claims were illogical and contradicted the workings of the Nigerian banking system.
"The attention of the CBN has been drawn to a misleading report misquoting the Governor, Godwin Emefiele, as attributing the current challenge in the distribution of the newly redesigned naira banknotes to a shortage of printing materials at the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc.
"We wish to state unequivocally that the CBN Governor made no mention of this during his presentation to the National Council of State at its meeting on Friday, February 10, 2023.
“For the records, what Emefiele told the meeting was that the NSPMC was working on printing all denominations of the naira to meet the transaction needs of Nigerians,” he said.
He noted that While the CBN appreciated the concerns shown by all stakeholders about the distribution of the naira, the Bank was alarmed at the extent to which vested interests were attempting to manipulate facts and pitch the public against it.
He said the CBN remained committed to performing its monetary policy functions as stipulated in the CBN Act, 2007, as amended, adding the NSPMC had the capacity and enough materials to produce the required indent of the naira.
The CBN thereby appealed to the public to disregard the said report and exercise more restraint, even as it works assiduously to increase the circulation of the new notes in the country.
“Similarly, there is a misleading voice note trending in social media alleging that the CBN planned to shut down some banks, particularly in a particular geo-political region of 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 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.
“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 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,” the statement added.