CURRENCY SCARCITY

CBN begins disbursement of lower denomination Naira notes The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said it has commenced the disbursement of low denomination notes to aid easy accessibility of the currency and put an end to the scarcity of the notes. Speaking at an on-going sensitization fair in Akure, the Ondo state capital, an Assistant Director, Currency Operations Department of the CBN, Benedict Maduagwu, said the bank has begun the direct disbursement of N200, N100, N50, N20, N10 and N5 denominations to relevant locations. According to him, the locations include merchants, shopping malls, stores, supermarkets, market men and women and toll-gates. He added that the effort was done in exchange for higher denominations. Maduagwu noted that the circulation of a lower denomination of Naira notes, which was initiated in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, was extended to Lagos, Enugu, Onitsha, Kano, Ibadan, Yola, Katsina, Gombe and Plateau. He reiterated the apex bank’s commitment to the economic well-being of Nigerians, adding that the CBN has also developed a framework to address the abuse of Naira in the country. “The bank has evolved a monitoring framework to avoid abuse,” he said. There have been concerns over the availability of lower Naira denomination and growing rate of dirty Naira notes in the country which could be a medium of spreading infections. Recall that the Senate had expressed worry over the scarcity of lower denomination of Naira notes in the country, stressing that the scarcity poses a severe threat to the economy of the nation. In July, the House of Representatives had urged the CBN to begin the replacement of mutilated Naira notes, in particular the N100 notes, in all banks with new ones.