CBN blames hoarding for new naira scarcity

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has blamed hoarding for the present scarcity of new naira notes being faced by Nigerians.

CBN director, Consumer Protection, Mrs. Rashidat Mongunu, disclosed this yesterday in Offa, Kwara State, during monitoring exercise visits to some microfinance banks in the state.

She said, ‘’There is naira out there. I have been in Kwara for over three weeks now and we have been allocating money daily.

‘‘Now, everybody collecting the naira is hoarding it. So, no matter how much naira we put out there, if we continue with this attitude from now till December, it will still not be enough.

‘Even those that don’t really need the money are rushing to get it and keep; not to spend.

‘‘Currency management is a cycle, but we have not allowed the cycle to mature. When you issue currency as CBN, what we expect is that the naira issued will come back into the banking system again.”

The CBN director added that the situation could only get better when people start spending money already hoarded because enough money was already in circulation.

She added that the CBN was already engaging traditional rulers to sensitise their people to have a positive attitude and be confident that the naira redesign policy was not to punish anyone but to better the economy.