By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
Renowned Economist and Chief Executive Officer of Financial Derivatives Co. Limited, Bismarck Jemide Rewane has posited that the only remedy for the current cash crunch which Nigerians are facing is for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to print more new Naira notes to improve currency circulation.
He also blamed the redesigned Naira notes swap controversy on the shift in the original deadline set by the Federal Government for the old naira notes to seize to be a legal tender in Nigeria, pointing out that the furore over the CBN monetary policy would not have arisen if the January 31 deadline set by the government had remained sacrosanct.
Rewane who spoke on the topic ‘Naira Notes Swap Controversy’ on Channels Television programme Politics Today monitored in Abuja on Friday, insists that the cash squeeze being experienced in and country after the change of the nation’s currency denominations will be a thing of the past if the apex bank print more money to saturate the financial system.
According to him: “The currency swap as an economic policy is not bad but the implementation is what has brought miseries to Nigerians. Now, the only way to mitigate the economic disruptions caused by the current scarcity of Naira notes is for the CBN to print more money”.
Giving a graphic details of the negative impacts scarcity of Naira notes have caused in Nigeria, especially on the prices of essential commodities, Rewane said that the situation may persist unless the CBN floods the financial system with more money.
The former Treasurer/ General Manager, First National Bank of Chicago, United States (US) argued that the present situation was avoidable if the both CBN and federal government had not been shifting the deadline for the old Naira notes to seize to be a legal tender in the country.
“My advise to the government is stop shifting deadlines. You will not score any point in so doing. Instead, nobody will respect any government that is not consistent. This is not helpful.
“When the government sets deadline it must be obeyed. Inefficient government suffers policy indigestion. This is what has happened to Nigeria, the deadlines set by the government are not kept and this inconsistent behaviour has put the government in a precarious position”, Rewane stated.
Asked if he will still keep the CBN Governor on his post in the face of the Naira notes swap controversy, Rewane said there is no point to blame anyone in this fiasco as the most important thing now is to focus on the ways to ensure the availability of Naira notes in the deposit banks, Automated Teller Machines (ATM), Point of Sales (POS) and people’s wallets.
Prompt News reports that the Federal Government and CBN had earlier set January 31, 2023 as deadline for the old Naira notes to seize to be a legal tender in Nigeria but the date was further shifted to February 10 with seven days grace period for all the old Naira notes to be returned to the CBN vaults.
However, the shifting of deadlines by both CBN and Federal Government have given rise to the plethora of litigation against the Federal Government with the Supreme Court of Nigeria even restraining the Federal Government from enforcing the deadline for the old Naira notes to seize to be a legal tender in Nigeria.
