Posted by By SEUN ADESIDA on
The management board of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will meet today to decide the next line of action on the suspended naira policy announced last Friday by the Federal Government.
The management board of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will meet today to decide the next line of action on the suspended naira policy announced last Friday by the Federal Government.
According to a top source in the apex bank, 'this issue broke out over the weekend and there was no time for the board to meet and make decision on the announcement, but by Monday, the board will meet to decide on the next line of action."
Asked if the CBN had closed the issue of the naira policy, he said. 'The matter is not about closing or opening. It is for the board to meet and decide the fate of the policy before making any further public statement on the matter."
The Presidency, through the Special Adviser to the President (Communications), Olusegun Adeniyi, issued a statement at the weekend insisting that the CBN's plan was at variance with the Umar Yar'Adua administration's insistence on due process and rule of law, which it claimed the apex bank did not follow.
The CBN had, however, said, in another statement, that the Federal Government was duly informed about the new naira policy.
Based on the CBN Act, which the CBN Board acted upon to announce the redenomination, Adeniyi said, only the President could give approval for change of the nation's currency if he was convinced of its desirability or necessity.
Although Yar'Adua was concerned about the implications of the redenomination on the economy and would have preferred robust consultations with central stakeholders, Adeniyi explained that he opted not to overrule the CBN governor but awaited clarification by the Attorney General.
The concerns of the Presidency about the policy, which the Economic Management Team, led by Finance Minister, Dr Samsudeen Usman, was to discuss with the CBN, Adeniyi said included the following:
• That under the so called "Strategic Agenda for the Naira" presented to the media, the CBN would abdicate its monetary responsibility by ceding such authority to states and local governments.
• That the CBN would, without consultations, set a commencement date of August 1, 2008 for the re-domination of the Naira and the introduction of new Naira notes and coins.
• That the CBN apparently had not given due consideration to the huge cost implications of the currency re-denomination at a time there are more urgent demands on the resources available to government and
• That the economic value of the entire project to the nation at this point in time was doubtful.
Based on the president's misgivings on the policy, Adeniyi stated, he authorised the suspension of the ‘Strategic Agenda for the Naira.'
The policy announced on August 14 would have commenced next August with N20 being the highest denomination of the country's currency.