Sola Obadimu, Director-General of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA), has suggested that the introduction of N5,000 notes would have prevented the Naira policy debacle.
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According to Obadimu, if he were the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), he would have issued N5,000 notes instead of redesigning the N200, N500, and N1,000 notes, as done by Godwin Emefiele.
The N200, N500, and N1,000 notes will be redesigned to compel Nigerians to deposit N2.7 trillion outside the vaults of commercial banks and to prevent money laundering, hoarding, and soaring inflation, Emefiele stated in October 2022.
Amid the crisis surrounding the redesign of notes, Obadimu faulted Emefiele’s decision to introduce a higher denomination, saying it would have been more effective.
The only thing I would have done if I were the governor of the CBN would have been to introduce a N5,000 note. Because it is a higher denomination, fewer amounts of bills would have been printed.”
He, however, threw his weight behind the central bank’s push for a cashless society, stating that is where the world is heading.
But he criticised banks, arguing they are not well prepared for the cashless society call, as many still struggle with having a functional digital banking system.
“For instance, when a financial transaction declines, you get debited and the bank cannot refund you for up to three weeks even if the transaction is to the same bank,” Obadimu said.
The NACCIMA DG buttressed his point by canvassing for more investment in infrastructure to make Nigeria fully digital. “So, for the urban network to improve and for the rural areas to catch up, the government has to invest heavily in infrastructure so that every part of Nigeria will be digitised,” he said.
