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 nationโs legal tender by 2014, and determine, if the project is desirable for the nationโs economy.
The committee was also mandated to find out the likely benefitsย the project would attract into Nigeriaโs 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’sย economy; and where the answers to the above are in the negative, the scheme should not only beย 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 CBNโs plan to introduce a new legal tender (N5000 note) before the end of the first quarter of 2014 through a programme called โproject cureโ.
Noting that there are no compelling change in the economic space, Saleh concluded that the plan is uncalled for.
โThe purported โproject cureโ 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.
“Thisย 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.
โSince the suspension of the scheme for over one year to date, which according to the apex bank, was โdue to low level of understanding of benefits of the programmeโ, 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.
โThe purported plan to introduce the โproject cureโ 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 โproject cureโ 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 toย embark upon,โ Saleh said.
The motion is entitled: need to investigate the plans of CBN to introduceย N5000 note as one of Nigeriaโs legal tender by 2014.
