On Monday, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revealed that Nigeria’s external reserves fell by $427.14 m in one month.
This is because the crisis in the country’s currency worsened due to the scarcity of new naira notes.
Figures obtained from the CBN on the movement of foreign reserves showed that the reserves, which stood at $37.21bn as of January 18, fell to $36.79bn as of the end of February 16, 2023.
Last year, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said that one of the policy’s objectives was to mop up currency outside the bank vaults after announcing the plan to redesign the naira notes.
He urged Nigerians to use alternative payment channels to drive the country’s digital payment systems.
However, after the deadline, the new naira notes became scarce. Hence, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), directed that the old N200 note be recirculated, adding that it would remain legal tender until April 10, 2023.
The Deposit Money Banks also began collecting old N500 and N1,000 notes on Friday, even without giving the depositors new naira notes in return.
Due to the hardships caused by the scarcity, pockets of protests in the country resulted in the loss of lives and property.
The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association said in a statement, “In the last few weeks, with the cash squeeze and the purchasing ability of Nigerians greatly impaired by the shameless implementation of the policy, the economy has witnessed a significant bashing with a report stating that the real sector witnessed about 40 per cent drop in productive activities. As the cash crush continues, thousands of productive hours are lost daily in queues by employees, and many cannot even get to work.”
The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele 2022, launched the RT200 FX Programme to boost the country’s forex supply through the non-oil sector over the next three to five years.
“The RT200 FX Programme is a set of policies, plans and programmes for non-oil exports that will enable us to attain our lofty yet attainable goal of $200bn in FX repatriation, exclusively from non-oil exports, over the next three to five years,” he said.
