Naira Scarcity, Latest Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ) News Today 2nd May 2023

This article has Latest Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) News Today, 26th April 2023, most recent and relevant news, developments, and insights from the CBN and its stakeholders.

From policy updates and regulatory changes to market trends and industry analysis, Fox Nigeria has compiled comprehensive and important news as well as events affecting the Nigerian financial system.

CBN tells Nigerians to spend new naira notes without fear

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reacted to reports that it plans to remove the newly redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 notes from circulation.

The clarification follows rising concerns around the seeming disappearance of newly redesigned notes which led to the speculation.

Isa Abdulmumim, CBN's acting director of corporate communications, issued a statement refuting the false claim that the bank is considering withdrawing the newly redesigned N1000, N500, and N200 banknotes from circulation.

The statement reads:

“We would like to emphasise that the speculation is baseless and a strategy employed by certain groups to incite fear among the public.”
“It should be noted that both the old and new currency notes are being used concurrently, and the bank is regularly receiving a substantial amount of the updated banknotes from the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC) Limited.”

Abdulmumim also stressed CBN's commitment to supply the approved indent for the smooth running of the economy.

He, therefore, urged members of the public to disregard any report suggesting a phase-out of the redesigned currency, Punch reports.

Continuing, AbdulMumim said:

“For the avoidance of doubt, the redesigned and old notes will continue to be accepted as legal tender.
“They will circulate side-by-side for transactions ahead of the December 31, 2023 deadline, when the old N1000, N500 and N200 banknotes will eventually be phased out. Please be guided accordingly.”

CBN says Nigerians are keeping N1.4trn at home; scarcity of new notes continue

Currency outside the banking system increased Month-on-Month by 66% to N1.4 trillion in March from N843 billion in February.

The increase shows the impact of the Supreme Court Order that returned the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes into circulation until December 31, 2023.

The now botched implementation of the naira redesign policy of the CBN sucked in about N1.81 trillion from outside the bank and crashed currency in circulation to N1.4 trillion in January 2023.

Nigerians returned over close to N2 trillion to the banks in January
Vanguard reports that CBN data for January revealed that Nigerians deposited about N1.81 trillion into the banking system in response to the initial January deadline for depositing the old currency notes.

Due to the then CBN deadline, currency outside banks dropped month on month by 70% to N788.9 billion in January this year from N2.6 trillion in December 2022.

Currency in circulation had dropped month-on-month by 54% to N1.38 trillion in January this year from N3 trillion recorded in December 2022 amid a scarcity of naira notes.

CBN stated that part of the reason for the naira redesign policy was to mop up excess cash outside the banking system and rein inflation.

Ex-NNPC boss sues CBN, EFCC, others to court over N4.5bn

The erstwhile former Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Andrew Yakubu, has sued the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over their refusal to release the sum of $9.8 million which he says belongs to him.

Andrew sued the apex bank, the anti-corruption body, and a commercial bank for not refunding the money.

In a suit, FHC/ABJ/CS/231/2023, brought before Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Yakubu is seeking an order asking the CBN, EFCC, and the commercial bank to release his monies immediately to him because of the court judgment.

The suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/231/2023 is before Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court Abuja.

In the suit filed on March 8, the former NNPCL boss asks the court if the EFCC should still have seized funds in its custody after a judgment in his favor on March 31, 2022.

The EFCC in a notice of preliminary objection, the EFCC asked the court to dismiss the suit.

The anti-graft agency said the suit was an abuse of the court process and that the court lacked the jurisdiction to hear the claim.

It informed the court that two other appeals arising from the case are pending at the Supreme Court between the Federal Government and Yakubu and between Yakubu and FG.

The EFCC noted that an appeal regarding the judgment is before the court of appeal in Abuja.

The Punch reports that the EFCC said that while it is for the Supreme Court to fix a date for the hearing, Yakubu brought an application asking the Apex Court to direct it to deposit the monies in a bank account managed by the Supreme Court's registry.

The EFCC asked the court to throw out Yakubu's application and uphold its earlier objection in the interest of justice.

At the resumed hearing on April 28, 2023, Yakubu's counsel A. A Usman told the court they had counter-affidavits from the defendants and required time to respond.

EFCC seizes Yakubu's money, labels them money laundering
Idaye Imbu, counsel to Guarantee Trust Bank, also told the court that a motion to regularise their process had been filed.

The court granted GTB's prayers without the other parties' objections, and the matter was adjourned to May 18, 2023.

The EFCC raided Yakubu's house in 2017 and confiscated about $ 772,800 and 74,000.

The anti-corruption agency subsequently arraigned Yakubu on March 16, 2017, on a six-count charge bordering on money laundering.

Justice Ahmed Mohammed discharged and acquitted Yakubu of the money laundering charge.

CBN, World Bank reveal amount Nigerians abroad sent to relatives

A recent report by the World Bank has said Diaspora Nigerians have remitted about $168.33 billion to the country in the past eight years.

The report comes as foreign investment inflow into the country dipped in the period under review, mainly driven by a scarcity of forex, leading to the collapse of the naira.

The World Bank and Nigeria's Budget Office data reveal that Nigerians abroad played a prominent role in satisfying the impact of foreign exchange scarcity and keeping the country's forex reserve afloat.

The World Bank reported in 2022 that remittance inflow to Africa increased by 5.2% to $53 billion, with Nigeria getting the most significant share.

Data from the Washington-based bank stated that between 2025 and 2022, about $168.33 billion was repatriated home by Nigerians abroad.

An analysis of the figures shows that in 2015, Diaspora remittances were $21.2 billion, declining to $19.7 billion in 2016 and spiking to $22 billion in 2017.

As of 2018, total remittances amounted to $24.31 billion and dropped to $23.31 billion. Due to the pandemic, Diaspora Remittances plummeted to $17.21 billion and rebounded to $19.2 billion in 2021.

World Bank estimates that a total of $20.9 billion was remitted by Nigerians in Diaspora in 2022.

CBN policies driving dollar inflow into Nigeria
Punch reports that before 2020, the country's remittance inflows had dipped below $20 billion to $19.7 billion in 2016. The World says that Diaspora remittance will be one of the primary sources of non-oil foreign exchange earners for Nigeria in 2022.

According to the bank, the sustenance of the increase in Diaspora inflows in 2021 happened because of several policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

TheCable reports that the apex bank revealed that Nigeria recorded $2.4 billion in Diaspora remittances via its Naira 4 Dollar Scheme in 2022.

It introduced the policy in 2021, which pays N5 for every $1 received as a remittance inflow.

The bank's Director of Trade and Exchange Department, Ozoemena Nnaji, said that all through 2021, remittances recorded via the initiative were about $2.9 billion. In the eight months of 2022, the country had recorded approximately $2.4 billion.

“We have seen an increase in the Naira 4 Dollar regarding remittances. For example, in 2021, we recorded $2.9 billion of cash inflows, and so far this year, we have recorded $2.4 billion. So, in half of the year, we have gotten almost what we got in 2021,” Nnaji said.