Teddy Oscar, Abuja
The House of Representatives’ Committee on Banking and Currency was on Wednesday mandated to investigate the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s plan to introduce N5000 note as one of nation’s legal tender by 2014, and determine, if the project is desirable for the nation’s economy.
The committee was also mandated to find out the likely benefits the project would attract into Nigeria’s economic space and on Nigerians in general; if if there has been sufficient and adequate enlightenment campaign by the apex bank to educate Nigerians on the derivable benefits that this scheme will attract into the nation’s economy; and where the answers to the above are in the negative, the scheme should not only be suspended, but be discarded within its entirety.
This was sequel to a motion that was brought under matters of urgent national importance by Hon. Hassan Saleh.
Under the motion, Saleh reminded his colleagues of CBN’s plan to introduce a new legal tender (N5000 note) before the end of the first quarter of 2014 through a programme called ‘project cure’.
Noting that there are no compelling change in the economic space, Saleh concluded that the plan is uncalled for.
“The purported ‘project cure’ programme was first muted in September I, 2012 when it (CBN) announce that the programme was designed to restructure the nation’s currency by minting N5, N10 and N20 coins, redesigning the N50 note and introducing the N5000 note.
“This scheme was greeted with an overwhelming public disapproval and outraged, and it was suspended by the apex bank to enable it educate Nigerians on the benefit of the scheme.
“Since the suspension of the scheme for over one year to date, which according to the apex bank, was ‘due to low level of understanding of benefits of the programme’, the Central Bank (of Nigeria) has not from that time till date carried out any form of enlightenment campaign to educate Nigerians on the expected economic benefit that the country stand to gain from this scheme.
“Rather, it is scheming to stage manage and smuggle in tie scheme into the nation’s economic system and on Nigerians come January, 2014.
“The purported plan to introduce the ‘project cure’ scheme by the end of January 2014 is most uncalled for, as there are no compelling change in the economic space between 2012 and the intended date of introduction of the scheme to warrant the revisiting of the ‘project cure’ scheme.
“As vast majority of Nigerians do not spend up to that amount per day, and have no need for this expensive economic expedition that the Central Bank of Nigeria is about to embark upon,” Saleh said.
The motion is entitled: need to investigate the plans of CBN to introduce N5000 note as one of Nigeria’s legal tender by 2014.
