President Goodluck Jonathan has finally bowed to pressure as
he directed the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Lamido Sanusi, to
suspend the planned introduction of N5,000 note.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity,
Dr. Reuben Abati said last night in Abuja that the introduction of the N5,000
note was put on hold to enable the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, embark on
public enlightenment on the initiative.
Abati told journalists that Jonathan’s latest disposition to
the issue was based on the need for more “enlightenment and consultation”.
He said, “The introduction of the new note is being
suspended for now to enable the CBN do more enlightenment on the issue. Yes,
President Jonathan has directed that the implementation of the new N5,000 note
be suspended for now.
“This is to enable the apex bank to do more in terms of
enabling Nigerians understand why it proposed it in the first place. So, for
now, the full implementation is on hold.”
Also, the CBN, in a statement on Thursday, confirmed that it
had received a presidential directive to stop action on the currency
restructuring plan.
The statement by the apex bank’s spokesperson, Ugo
Okoroafor, reads, “The CBN hereby informs the general public that the
President, on Thursday, September 20, 2012, directed that further action on the
approved restructuring exercise be stopped.
“It is important to stress that till date, no contract
whatsoever has been awarded by the CBN in connection with the printing and
minting of the new currency notes and coins. Consequently, no currency note or coin
has been printed or minted under the proposed exercise.”
It would be recalled that many Nigerians, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo
as well as the Senate and House of Representatives had kicked against it.
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