N5,000 will strengthen the cashless policy – CBN official

The Director, Corporate Communications Affairs of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Ugochukwu Okoroafor has affirmed that the apex bank’s decision to introduce the N5,000 note is to strengthen the cashless policy of the bank.

He further explained that the Project Cure which is the review of the nation’s currency announced by the CBN last week, is in-line with the CBN’s statutory policy of reviewing the nation’s currency. He also stated that the move is in line with global best practices of reviewing nation’s legal tender on a regular basis of every five-eight years.

Mr Okoroafor on our weekly breakfast show, Sunrise, noted that the N1,000 has been in existence in the last seven years. N500 has been around for 11 years, N200 for 12 years and the N100 for 13years, hence the need for this overall review of the currency, which according to him is ‘over-due’.

The corporate affairs manager also argued that it is essential to rejuvenate the currency, “to make it new”, “for an economy that is just coming out a global recession” he said.

However, a chartered accountant, Bala Zaka, countered the CBN’s policy, describing it as ‘irrelevant brilliancy’.