New Naira: Use Alternative Payment Methods, CBN Tells Nigerians

The Central Bank of Nigeria has implored Nigerians to make use of the eNaira and Internet banking as alternatives to the current naira scarcity.

The Director, Corporate Communications Department of the CBN, Mr. Osita Nwanusobi, who was represented by the Director, Capacity Development of CBN, Mohammed Abbah, disclosed this while speaking at the recently held 44th Kaduna International Trade Fair.

Osita disclosed that the payment system infrastructure could handle an increasing number of transaction volumes across all payment channels.

He said the new naira policy was not aimed at any individual as being insinuated in the public domain.

According to him, “The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has always said that the policy is not targeted at anyone or any group of persons, rather, it derived from the Bank’s in-house analysis to strengthen our macroeconomic fundamentals and better our socio-economic conditions.”

Speaking on the theme, “Promoting Value Addition for Economic Growth and Development”, he explained that promotion of value plays an important role to Nigeria’s economic growth and development.

He further said the apex bank was projected to boost financial inclusion through reduction of the number of the unbanked population and to support the efforts of the security agencies in combating banditry and ransom-taking in Nigeria through this programme.

He added that the Produce, Add Value and Export option of the apex bank was similar to the export-led industrialisation policy South-East Asia, which elevated the economic fortunes of the Asian Tigers: Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan.