CBN denies planning to redenominate Naira

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday denied claims that it plans to redenominate the country’s currency – Naira – with effect from January 2024.

This was disclosed in a statement by the CBN’s Director of Corporate Communications, Isa AbdulMumin, amid claims suggesting the apex bank plans to redenominate the country’s legal tender.

“We are concerned that this narrative, which we had refuted before now, appears to be gaining traction with several debates on the implication of such a policy for the Nigerian economy,” the statement read.

“We wish to reiterate that the contents of the message are misleading. The authors of the message, in their mischief, modified text eked from an old policy move by a previous CBN Governor in 2007 to make it appear recent.

“For the avoidance of doubt, there is currently no plan by the Bank to restructure and redenominate the naira. The public is hereby advised to ignore the news report, as it is speculative and calculated to cause panic in the polity.”

While the bank may be considering reforms, AbdulMumin said “such are subject to laid down procedures in line with the provisions of the CBN Act, 2007.”

Last year, the apex bank redesigned the N200, N500 and N1000 notes.