The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has expressed its worries regarding the difficulties that Nigerians are facing in obtaining cash from banks and other sources. Osita Nwanisobi, the Director of Corporate Communications at the CBN, shared these concerns during the CBN Special Day event at the 44th Kaduna International Trade Fair. Representing Mr. Nwanisobi was Mohammed Abbah, Director of Capacity Development in the bank.
According to Mr. Nwanisobi, the currency redesign initiative will bring many benefits to the economy in the long run. Although there have been reports of occasional transaction failures, he reassured that the Nigerian payment system infrastructure is robust enough to handle the increased transaction volumes across all channels. He also urged Nigerians to embrace alternative payment channels such as eNaira and internet banking as the country moves towards a cashless policy.
The CBN’s currency redesign is not aimed at any particular group of individuals, but instead aims to improve the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals and socio-economic conditions. The initiative is meant to make the monetary policy more effective, resulting in a relatively stable exchange rate. Additionally, it aims to combat banditry and ransom-taking, as well as increase financial inclusion by reducing the unbanked population.
Mr. Nwanisobi stated that the CBN is focused on stimulating productivity in the manufacturing sector, strengthening domestic industries, and transforming agricultural output to achieve self-sufficiency and protect the local economy. He mentioned that the CBN and the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) recently launched the National Domestic Card Scheme, the first of its kind in Africa. This initiative will lower the operating costs for banks and reduce the foreign exchange commitments associated with foreign card schemes.
The CBN has also supported various initiatives such as the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP), the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS), and the Tertiary Institutions Entrepreneurship Scheme (TIES) since 2015. Furthermore, the bank has supported the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector, the Agribusiness/Small and Medium Enterprise Investment Scheme (AgSMEIS), and the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development Fund (MSMEDF). Under the Export Development Fund (EDF) and the Export Facilitation Initiative (EFI), the CBN has funded several projects for non-oil export commodity value-addition and production, with funding exceeding N11 billion and N3 billion,