The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has responded to Zainab Ahmad's claim that her ministry wasn't informed of the Central Bank of Nigeria's redesign of N200, N500, and N1,000 of Nigerian currencies.

Remember that CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele announced on Tuesday, October 25, that President Muhammadu Buhari had given approval for the apex bank to redesign some naira bills.

However, while defending her ministry's 2023 budget before the Senate Committee on Finance in Abuja on Friday, October 28, Ms. Zainab claimed that the CBN failed to consult her ministry on the proposed redesign of the denominations.

“We were not consulted. It was an announcement that we heard and there are also consequences.

We are also looking at what the consequences will be. There will be some benefits but there are some challenges. I don’t know if the monetary authorities have looked very closely at what the consequences are and how they can be mitigated.

I still advise that you have that discussion with the monetary authority,” she had told the senate committee

Reacting to Ahmad's statement, the spokesperson of the CBN, Osita Nwanisobi emphasized that the apex bank followed due process in its policy actions.

He said the management of the CBN, in line with provisions of section 2(b), section 18(a), and section 19(a)(b) of the CBN Act 2007, had duly sought and obtained the approval of the President Muhammadu Buhari in writing, to redesign, produce, release and circulate new series of N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes.

“The management of the CBN, in line with provisions of section 2(b), section 18(a), and section 19(a)(b) of the CBN Act 2007, had duly sought and obtained the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari in writing to redesign, produce, release and circulate new series of N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes'' he said

According to Nwanisobi, “currency management in the country had faced several escalating challenges, which has threatened the integrity of the currency, the CBN, and the country. Every top-rated Central Bank was committed to safeguarding the integrity of the local legal tender, the efficiency of its supply as well as its efficacy in the conduct of monetary policy.”

On the timing of the redesign project, Nwanisobi explained that the CBN had waited long enough for 20 years to carry out a redesign

''The standard practice globally was for central banks to redesign, produce and circulate new local legal tender every five to eight years,” he said

While assuring Nigerians that the currency redesign exercise was purely a central banking exercise and not targeted at any group, the CBN spokesman expressed optimism that the effort will, among other goals, deepen Nigeria’s push to entrench a cashless economy in the face of increased minting of the air. This, he said, is in addition to helping to curb the incidents of terrorism and kidnapping due to access of persons to the large volume of money outside the banking system used as a source of funds for ransom payments.