The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Economist

  • Economist urges gov’t to solve power crisis

    An Economist with the University of Ghana, Dr. Eric Osei Assibey said the energy sector is the backbone of the Ghanaian economy, therefore, the government should adopt an urgent approach to solving the power crisis.

    According to him, the energy crisis being experienced is the most intense and longest in the history of Ghana and government must execute programmes that will solve the problem to improve the living conditions of the people.

    Dr. Osei Assibey was speaking on GTV’s Current Affairs programme, Talking Point, which discussed President Mahama’s State of the Nation Address delivered to Parliament last Thursday.

    MP for Obuasi East, Kwaku Kwarteng says State of the Nation Addresses has become an exercise to praise government. This, according to him, does not augur well for the country.

    For his par,t Deputy Minister of Education, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa says the President was clear on the strategies to be employed to manage the crisis in the short and long-terms.

    He said 1000 megawatts of power will be available by April to tackle the challenges and solve it once and for all by the end of the year. Ghana’s energy sector needs private sector participation for energy sufficiency, the governing National Democratic Congress’ deputy Youth Organiser for the Greater Accra region Godwin Eduzi Tameklo has said.

    “Energy generation must be a shared responsibility: I mean private sector participation,” he said during a panel of discussion with youth leaders of the various political parties about growing the next crop of leaders for Ghana.

    Mr Tameklo said: “At every point in time, what you need is a certain critical partnership between the private sector and the state so that once you have that partnership within the state, you create the enabling environment that a private individual can generate power, feed into the national system, (and if they) know that at the end of the day you’ll get the needed return – once you are able to demonstrate that – you can always get available power.”

    Ghana is currently shedding between 400 and 700 Megawatts of power during off-peak and peak periods respectively as a result of a worsening power crisis.

     

     

     

     

  • Punches from the economist

    Punches from the economist

    The last time Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) made news headlines was in August 2013.  That was when he, alongside five others, was disqualified by the screening committee of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) from the governorship primaries of the party for the election in Anambra State.

    Since that episode ended, the banker extraordinaire has maintained a dignified silence. He admitted taking a long sabbatical leave from partisan politics, watching the drama from the ‘balcony’.

    That lasted till January 25, when he wrote a piece titled: ‘Buhari vs Jonathan: Beyond the Election’, where he picked holes on the electioneering campaigns by political parties ahead of this month’s elections. He berated the political parties for missing the golden opportunity to sensitise the citizenry about the enormous challenges ahead.

    Soludo insisted that none of the parties has any credible agenda to deal with major development challenges—corruption, insecurity, economy (unemployment/poverty, power, infrastructure,) health, education issues, especially within the context of the evolving global economy and Nigeria’s broken public finance.

    Just when the dust generated by the article was about to settle, he opened another Pandora Box titled: “Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the Missing Trillions (1)”, alleging that N30 trillion was stolen under the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance ’s watch.

    However, the articles, although rejected by President Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign team, got handful of responses both from government, and the private sector operators.  The Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation described Soludo as being confused and conflicted. It also said Soludo had lost touch with reality.

    The Director of Media and Publicity of the campaign organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, disagreed with Soludo, saying he read his criticism of the economy under President Jonathan’s administration with amusement.

    The former bank chief had also noted that the APC had only been making great promises but had failed to explain to Nigerians how it planned to implement its promises in the face of dwindling resources.

    The immediate past Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, however, defended the All Progressives Congress (APC). For Fayemi, Soludo deserves commendation for his insightful article, which berated the Jonathan administration for alleged gross mismanagement of the economy and depleting the nation’s resources.

    Fayemi, who heads the Policy, Research and Strategy Directorate of the APC Presidential Campaign, said the APC would provide jobs through the creation of public infrastructure. Fayemi said the APC had already started addressing the problem of unemployment, pointing out that the states with the lowest rate of unemployment – Lagos, Osun and Kwara – are all APC states. The party, he added, would immediately begin to build refineries, hence, ending the importation of refined petroleum products.

    Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, Prof. Pat Utomi, Oby Ezekwesili, Iyabo Obasanjo, Femi Fani-Kayode and thousands of other patriotic Nigerians also raised the content of the debate.

    Okonjo-Iweala took Soludo to the cleaners, saying his comments amounted to committing “intellectual hara-kiri”.  The Minister, who spoke through her Special Adviser on Media, Paul Nwabuikwu, accused Soludo of single-handedly mismanaging the country’s banking sector between May 2004 and May 2009 and plunging the country into “an incredible accumulation of liabilities that will cost tax payers about N5.67 trillion”.

    But Soludo said his the report is nothing personal . “I will not bother about the malicious attacks on my person. For me, it is nothing personal. In early 2011, I had a similar heated exchange with the then Finance Minister Segun Aganga. But when the Nigerian economy was at stake and he invited me to a stakeholders meeting in his office (as Minister of Trade and Investment) to discuss Nigeria’s response to the ruinous EU- Economic Partnership for Africa (EPA), I flew into Nigeria for that (at my expense)— the first and only time I have been to any government office to discuss policy since I left office. It is about Nigeria,” he said.

    Continuing, he said: “I will show that while you are introducing austerity measures and soon to immiserate the citizens, our public finance is haemorrhaging to the point that estimated over N30 trillion is missing or stolen or unaccounted for, or simply mismanaged— under your watch! We can’t go on like this, and I am convinced that an alternative future is possible”.

    Soludo said there are three criteria for evaluating a public officer’s stewardship: the evaluation by his employer; the satisfaction of the public he served; and the hard facts of performance. “As I will show on these three counts, I am convinced that I left a world record of public service, and a thousand Okonjo-Iwealas cannot re-write that history. I served Nigeria under two presidents (Obasanjo and Yar’Adua) and as my immediate bosses, below are their written testimonials of my record,” he said.

    Like every mortal, Soludo attracts both criticism and praise.  Former President Olusegun Obasanjo described  Soludo as a true Nigerian. “He is the sort of Nigerian that we all know we can rely on. Among his numerous virtues is COURAGE. I have found in him a man who can take tough and realistic decisions, stand his ground, educate others on the salience of his decision, and work very hard to ensure that the decision is efficiently and effectively implemented. His dedication to duty is first rate. His leadership qualities are admirable and his willingness to listen and learn is simply infectious.

    “Professor Soludo has within a short time emerged as one of the leading lights of our nation. Not because he has a godfather but by sheer hard work, loyalty, dedication to duty, commitment to the nation, creativity, and undiluted association with the reform agenda….”

    The late President Umaru Yar’Adua  had this to say about the CBN under Soludo’s leadership: “… the CBN has performed creditably well in delivering on its core mandates. This is especially even more so in the last five years. Most people would agree that without the successful banking consolidation and effective management of our foreign reserves, the current global crisis would have shaken the financial system and our national economy to their foundations with calamitous consequences”.

    Soludo said that if the public opinions of individuals and organised groups  as expressed in thousands of newspaper/magazine clips during and after his tenure are anything to go by, then 82 per cent of the public largely agree with the sentiments expressed by my two bosses.

    Certainly, the international community (investors, bankers, scholars, donors, media, etc) took serious notice of the revolution in Nigeria’s monetary and financial system under his watch.

    The London Financial Times described him as “a great reformer”. Even as the global economic and financial crisis raged in 2008, the United Nations General Assembly appointed Soludo to serve on the Commission of Experts to reform the international monetary and financial system. “You don’t appoint someone who has ‘mismanaged’ his national financial system to reform the global system,” Soludo said.

    For eight years until 2012, Soludo served on the chief economist advisory council (CEAC) of the World Bank, and together with two Nobel Prize winners in economics and other experts he met periodically and advised two presidents and two chief economists of the World Bank.

    When he assumed office at CBN, he inherited 89 rickety, mostly family banks all of which put together were not up to the size of the number four bank in South Africa. Many were insolvent, with depositors’ money trapped, and 20 more about to collapse. To get a credit of $300 million probably required all the banks to syndicate it.

    The banker was courageous to revoke the licenses of 14 banks, including those of his friends, in one day. “The FT-Banker concluded that the scale, precision, and cost of the transformation were unprecedented in the world. Before then, Malaysia had the least cost of banking consolidation at five per cent of Malaysian GDP. It did not cost Nigerian taxpayers one penny. Twenty-five new, stronger banks emerged but the powerful idea behind consolidation ignited something even more powerful—‘the race to the top’. Banks raised more capital, and even banks like First Bank, Zenith, GTB, among others, that did not merge with others went on capital raising several times. The consequence was higher levels of capitalisation and within two years, 14 Nigerian banks were in the top 1, 000 banks in the world and two in the top 300,” he said.

    Soludo said the quantum size of the new banks following consolidation presented challenges of risk management and supervision. “ We deployed all we had and overworked the CBN staff. The carry-over of bad loans from the consolidated banks was quickly cleaned up. To the best of my knowledge, we instituted stringent regulatory and supervisory regime (consistent with best practices at the time). We even had resident examiners in the banks and required bank Managing Directors  to personally sign their reports to CBN,” he said.

    Still, many see Soludo as a reformer whose contributions to Nigeria’s financial sector stability cannot be overemphasized.

  • The Economist: Many Nigerians prefer to give Buhari another chance

    The Economist: Many Nigerians prefer to give Buhari another chance

    AFTER weighing the two leading presidential candidates – Dr. Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), The Economist, the influential London weeklymagazine, has rated the General above the incumbent President.

    In its editorial entitled: “A former dictator is a better choice than a failed president,” the magazine said Nigerians have to make a choice between the duo on February 14.

    The editorial is in the newspaper’s edition due for publication tomorrow. It is unsparing of both candidates.

    President Jonathan, according to the editorial, has not shown enough political will to tackle corruption since he mounted the saddle in 2010, following the death of his predecessor, Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua.

    It said: “Start with Mr Jonathan, whose People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has run the country since 1999 and who stumbled into the presidency on the death of his predecessor in 2010. The PDP’s reign has been a sorry one. Mr Jonathan has shown little willingness to tackle endemic corruption.”

    The paper also called Buhari a former dictator, who came to power in coup.

    “The opposition All Progressives Congress has a real chance of winning through the ballot box. Yet its candidate, Mr Buhari, is an ex-general who, three decades ago, came to power in a coup. His rule was nasty, brutish and mercifully short,” the editorial said.

    In apparent reference to an opinion poll, the magazine said many Nigerians prefer to offer Buhari another chance because of his lifestyle and readiness to submit himself to democratic dictates.

    The paper stated: “Should a former dictator with such a record be offered another chance? Surprisingly, many Nigerians think he should.

    “One reason is that, in a country where ministers routinely wear wristwatches worth many times their annual salary, Mr Buhari is a sandal-wearing ascetic with a record of fighting corruption.”

    Below is the text of the editorial:

    “Sometimes there are no good options. Nigeria goes to the polls on February 14th to elect the next president, who will face problems so large—from rampant corruption to a jihadist insurgency—that they could break the country apart, with dire consequences for Nigerians and the world.

    “And yet, as Africa’s biggest economy stages its most important election since the restoration of civilian rule in 1999, and perhaps since the civil war four decades ago, Nigerians must pick between the incumbent, Goodluck Jonathan, who has proved an utter failure, and the opposition leader, Muhammadu Buhari, a former military dictator with blood on his hands (see article). The candidates stand as symbols of a broken political system that makes all Nigeria’s problems even more intractable.

    In this section

    “Start with Mr Jonathan, whose People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has run the country since 1999 and who stumbled into the presidency on the death of his predecessor in 2010. The PDP’s reign has been a sorry one. Mr Jonathan has shown little willingness to tackle endemic corruption. When the governor of the central bank reported that $20 billion had been stolen, his reward was to be sacked.

    “Worse, on Mr Jonathan’s watch much of the north of the country has been in flames. About 18,000 people have died in political violence in recent years, thousands of them in January in several brutal attacks by Boko Haram, a jihadist group that claims to have established its “caliphate” in territory as large as Belgium. Another 1.5m people have fled their homes.

    “The insurgency is far from Mr Jonathan’s southern political heartland and afflicts people more likely to vote for the opposition. He has shown little enthusiasm for tackling it, and even less competence.

    “Quick to offer condolences to France after the attack on Charlie Hedbo, Mr Jonathan waited almost two weeks before speaking up about a Boko Haram attack that killed hundreds, perhaps thousands, of his compatriots.

    “The single bright spot of his rule has been Nigeria’s economy, one of the world’s fastest-growing. Yet that is largely despite the government rather than because of it, and falling oil prices will temper the boom. The prosperity has not been broadly shared: under Mr Jonathan poverty has increased. Nigerians typically die eight years younger than their poorer neighbours in nearby Ghana.

    Goodbye Jonathan

    “Voters have ample cause to send Mr Jonathan packing. In a country where power has often changed through the barrel of a gun, the opposition All Progressives Congress has a real chance of winning through the ballot box.

    “Yet its candidate, Mr Buhari, is an ex-general who, three decades ago, came to power in a coup. His rule was nasty, brutish and mercifully short. Declaring a ‘war against indiscipline’, he ordered whip-wielding soldiers to ensure that Nigerians formed orderly queues.

    “His economics, known as Buharism, was destructive. Instead of letting the currency depreciate in the face of a trade deficit, he tried to fix prices and ban ‘unnecessary’ imports. He expelled 700,000 migrants in the delusion that this would create jobs for Nigerians. He banned political meetings and free speech. He detained thousands, used secret tribunals and executed people for crimes that were not capital offences.

      “Should a former dictator with such a record be offered another chance? Surprisingly, many Nigerians think he should. One reason is that, in a country where ministers routinely wear wristwatches worth many times their annual salary, Mr Buhari is a sandal-wearing ascetic with a record of fighting corruption.

    “Few nowadays question his commitment to democracy or expect him to turn autocratic: he has repeatedly stood for election and accepted the outcome when he lost. He would probably do a better job of running the country, and in particular of tackling Boko Haram.

    “As a northerner and Muslim, he will have greater legitimacy among villagers whose help he will need to isolate the insurgents. As a military man, he is more likely to win the respect of a demoralised army.

      “We are relieved not to have a vote in this election. But were we offered one we would—with a heavy heart—choose Mr Buhari. Mr Jonathan risks presiding over Nigeria’s bloody fragmentation. If Mr Buhari can save Nigeria, history might even be kind to him.”

  • Slow in China’s growth not a result of internal factors: economist

    China’s economic growth has been slowing since the first quarter of 2010 and the major reasons behind it are not internal structural factors, an economist said.

    As a developing country going through transformation, China definitely has structural problems, but declining growth in the past 18 quarters was caused by the external environment, said Justin Yifu Lin, former chief economist of the World Bank.

    He made the remarks at the forum Opportunities for Chinese Enterprises under the New Normal of Chinese Economy held by the National School of Development at Peking University.

    Citing examples of countries that have experienced similar trajectories in the past, including India, Brazil, the Republic of Korea and Singapore, he said that the economic growth rate in Brazil, for example, was 7.5 per cent in 2010, but only 2.2 per cent in 2013, namely it went through a similar slowdown as China, but more violently.

    “You cannot blame China’s internal factors for their dropping growth rates,” Lin said, believing that there are external reasons for the countries to go through such similar growth trajectories.

    He said that China can achieve its 7.5 per cent economic growth target this year, based on its investment opportunities on industrial upgrading, infrastructure, environment and urban management.

    He said that China’s annual growth must average 6.8 per cent to achieve its target of doubling its economy from 2010 to 2020. The annual growth should be at least 7.3 per cent however, to achieve its other goal of doubling per capita income over the same period, he said.

    China’s economic growth rate will stay between 7 per cent to 7.5 per cent in the coming five years or even longer, Lin forecast, adding that in this case, China’s enterprises face two opportunities: overseas mergers and transferring labour-intensive businesses overseas.

    China’s economy grew 10.4 per cent in 2010, 9.3 per cent in 2011, 7.7 per cent in 2012 and 7.7 per cent in 2013.

  • Naira may be devalued after 2015 elections, says economist

    Naira may be devalued after 2015 elections, says economist

    The naira may be devalued after the 2015 elections if there is “a significant drop” in the foreign reserves, an economist has predicted.
    Charles Robertson, the Global Economist of Renaissance Capital (RenCap), in a report titled: “Nigeria/Kazakhstan comparison and oil sales”, said: “Cumulative deterioration in the foreign reserves in 2013 and 2014 implies devaluation in 2015, after the selections.”
    Renaissance Capital is a financial intermediating and reserach firm.
    Robertson said though he was working on the assumption that there should be no devaluation in 2014, “there is a risk that the incoming Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, may devalue the naira, as Kazakhstan’s central bank governor did in coming to office in February 2007.
    He, doubted the devaluation taking place before the elections, saying such an action would be unpopular for an import-dependent nation.
    “We think a N160 to N170 to dollar target range is likely. One upside for the government from a weaker naira would be more naira from dollar oil tax revenue,” he said.
    The economist said foreign exchange reserves, which stood at $38 billion, would drop to $35 billion by the end of the year.
    He explained that if such a decline occurs, it would imply greater weakness of the naira than the current N164 to a dollar end-year assumption, but added that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would counter-act the position, by tightening monetary policy.
    “We assume foreign exchange reserves will fall from $44 billion in 2013 to $35 billion this year – a decline of $9 billion.That would imply greater weakness than our current N164 to a dollar end-year assumption. But we expect the CBN to counter-act this, by tightening monetary policy,” Robertson said.
    He said the last time the CBN devalued the naira was in 2011, following the $11 billion drop in foreign reserves.
    Robertson said: “We believe reserves will likely fall further in 2014 on the back of subpar oil production and higher imports due to election-related spending. We think the cumulative deterioration in Nigeria’s external position in 2013 and 2014 implies devaluation in 2015, after the elections; a devaluation before the elections would be unpopular for an import-dependent nation. We think a N160 to N170 to dollar target range is likely. One upside for the governent from a weaker naira would be more naira from dollar oil tax revenue.”
    The global economist explained that the CBN sees no obvious advantage for Nigeria from naira devaluation.
    Like Kazakhstan, Robertson said the naira has come under pressure recently from the US Federal Reserve’s tapering policy, and its current account surplus is likely to decline as imports rise in the run up to the February 2014 elections.
    The foreign exchange reserves last week, rose slightly to $38 billion, about $200 million higher than the $37.8 billion the previous week, data obtained from the CBN showed.
    The reserves had maintained steady decline in recent months after closing last year at $42.85 billion. The year-end figure represented a decrease of $0.98 billion or 2.23 per cent compared with $43.83 billion at end- December 2012. The reserves further dropped to $38.79 billion as at March 12. The reserves were at $42.77 billion on February 3, and dropped to $39.72 billion on March 3.
    Analysts said the reserves declined as imports of fuel and foods soared. But the CBN said the decrease was driven largely by the increased funding of the foreign exchange market in the face of intense pressure on the naira and the need to maintain stability.
    The CBN said the pressure on external reserves was deemed to be consistent with the seasonal annual payment of dividends to foreign investors.

  • Economist Baba Omojola is dead

    Economist Baba Omojola is dead

    Renowned economist, 75, Dr Baba  Omojola  is dead.

    He died early Saturday morning after submitting  his contribution to the National Dialogue Committee zonal session in Akure Ondo state.

    Omojola, former United Nations (UN) economic consultant and was an active member of the Pro National Conference Organisation, PRONACO.

    PRONACO secretariat in a statement by the group’s spokesperson Olawale Okunniyi confirmed Omojola’s death describing him as a revolutionary teacher and leader.

    Okunniyi said Omojola  “ suddenly slumped on Saturday  in his hotel room in Akure, Ondo State, while preparing to leave for his base in Lagos after making a powerful presentation on behalf of PRONACO yesterday in Akure before the Presidential Advisory Committee on National Conference.”

    “Baba Omojola who lodged at De Johson hotel, Akure where he suddenly collapsed was immediately rushed to First Mercy Specialist Hospital, Gbogi Road, Akure where he was later certified dead by one Dr. Akinluwa who was prompt in attending to him.

    “Baba Omojola before his sudden passing this morning was at the forefront of the advocacy for the convocation of the Sovereign National Conference, SNC and was one the signatories to the communiqué of the National Political Summit held in Uyo between 2nd and 5th September 2013″.

    The statement also recalled that: “The resolution of the summit specifically demanded for a Peoples National Conference for the country among others.”

    “Baba Omojola at yesterday presentation before the Presidential Committee also insisted that the PRONACO draft Peoples Constitution adopted in 2007 under the leadership Chief Anthony Enahoro of blessed memory should be the working document of the proposed National Conference.

    “He later formally submitted the draft peoples’ Constitution to the Chair and Secretary of the Presidential Committee before leaving the podium, Baba Omojola was co founder of PRONACO with Chief Tony Enahoro, Prof Wole Soyinka, Dr Beko Ransome Kuti among others who fought for the restoration of the present democracy in the country and the production of the draft peoples constitution produced by the Peoples National Conference of Nigerian ethnic nationalities between 2004 and 2007.

    “As a revolutionary teacher and leader, Baba trained and led a horde of Political and Labour Activists who are currently leading the advocacy for a New Nigeria, where the diverse peoples of Nigeria can make and own their constitution and live a good and peaceful life.

    “Baba will be remembered for his immense sacrificial contributions to political direction and development of the country; suffering numerous detentions in the hands of the Nigerian ruling class. Baba as a thorough bred and versatile Economist has to his credit numerous thesis and publications that has continued to shape the life of the country. ”, Okunniyi  stated.

  • Sanusi: Obasanjo successful farmer, bad economist

    Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo is a bad economist, although he is a successful farmer, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi said yesterday.

    Sanusi took on the former President while defending the planned introduction of the N5,000 banknote – a plan which many Nigerians including Obasanjo, have criticised.

    It was the first time the CBN governor has publicly defended the introduction of the banknote.
    He spoke at the 6th Annual Conference of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Abuja.
    Obasanjo last week said the introduction of the new denomination will cause inflation and increase the hardship people are going through.

    But Sanusi said Obasanjo’s comment came to him as a surprise because most of the higher denominations were introduced during his regime.
    Sanusi said the monetary policy measures being undertaken by the CBN were intended to stabilise the financial system and enable it to play its catalytic roles as a major source of pooling funds to grow the economy.

    He said: “This is an interesting country because my uncle or my father, our former head of state, General Obasanjo, you know he is a very successful farmer but he is a very bad economist and he stands up and says that this higher denomination will cause inflation and improve hardship. General Obasanjo did N20, he did N100, N200, N500 and N1, 000. He introduced more higher denominations in Nigeria than any former head of state.”

    He described the reported comments by the former President and other analysts that printing the N5,000 notes would exacerbate the inflationary trend of the economy as not premised on sound economic logic.

    To him, if printing the N5,000 notes will trigger inflation as being insinuated, Obasanjo should be seen as the greatest factor responsible for the high inflation in the economy, having printed five of the existing denominations during his tenure.
    Sanusi added that Obasanjo “did N100 note in 1999, he did N200 in 2000, he did N500 two years later and in that period, inflation was coming down because it was accompanied by prudent fiscal and monetary policy.”

    The CBN governor said those opposing the N5,000 note were ignorant of the benefits of the currency restructuring. He explained that its introduction would lead to efficiency of the country’s payment system since the policy is targeted at a small number of Nigerians handling huge cash.

    Sanusi explained that contrary to the widespread rumours about the cost of printing the N5,000 notes which the public has been informed will cost a N40 billion, it will cost between N2 billion to N3 billion, but with the potential of saving the government at least N7 billion yearly.
    Defending the restructuring plan, Sanusi said when the N20 bill was introduced in the 1970s, the bill was equivalent to $30 noting that by 2013 when the N5, 000 bill comes into existence, it would also be equivalent to the same $30.

    He said: “If you could buy $30 with one N20 bill in 1978, you now need 250, N20 bill to buy $30 and you would have had to print those 250 bills, pay for the paper, the ink, for the security features, for transportation, for insurance, for clearing, for the bullion van and processing and these are cost to the economy.”

    Sanusi said the CBN was introducing coins for various reasons, first as part of cost management since the N5, N10 and N20 note have very high frequency and have to be replaced every three months but the coins last longer. “Secondly we are working on a hypothesis that the reason Nigerians do not accept the coins is because they couldn’t buy anything with them and maybe if you give them coins that have value as a medium of exchange, they would accept them,” he said.
    The introduction of the N5, 000 he pointed out, will enhance the store of value function of the naira.

    The CIBN President, Mr Segun Ajayi, restated professional bankers’ commitment to ensuring that banks continue to play their financial intermediation roles in the economy by standardising the practice and collaborating with key stakeholders, including development partners and other financial institutions.