Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna state has said that the Central Bank of Nigeria, or CBN, took N2 trillion out of circulation and made only N400 billion worth of new notes to replace the old ones.
El-Rufai said this in a verified tweet that he sent out on Sunday.
He stated that the central bank confiscated cash compared to what could be obtained through the currency swap policy.
His tweet says, “During the implementation of the cash swap, the CBN withdrew over N2 trillion from circulation but printed only N400 billion, so in effect, currency confiscation was then unilaterally and unlawfully implemented by the CBN. Human suffering, impoverishment and economic contraction resulted. Trade and exchange have collapsed.
“The policy objective was derailed into a deliberate national fiasco to sabotage the elections to prevent vote-buying. All efforts to get CBN to implement what was lawfully approved failed.”
The governor said President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the naira to be redesigned. Still, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) did something different with redesigning and swapping the currency.
El-Rufai said President Buhari gave the go-ahead to redesign the N200, N500, and N1000 notes, while the CBN only changed the colours.
He said, “Currency redesign was approved by the President and announced. Currency recolouring resulted.
“Currency swap was envisaged by s.20(3) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act as approved by PMB. Swap means I take N100,000 to the bank in old notes & I receive N100,000 immediately in new notes. No more, no less.”
Remember that the naira crisis peaked last Thursday after the President’s national broadcast, in which he went against the Supreme Court and said that old N200 notes could still be used but that old N500 and N1,000 notes were still illegal.
Buhari urged Nigerians to turn in their old N500 and N1000 notes to the CBN. He also said the old N200 note would be legal tender for the next 60 days, until April 10.
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