El-Rufai Accuses CBN Of Printing Only ₦300bn New Notes After Mopping N2 Trillion

The Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has accused the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of printing only N300 billion new redesigned naira notes after mopping up over N2 trillion of the old naira notes.

He said that APC governors under the aegis of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) have asked President Muhammadu Buhari to prevail on the CBN to allow the old and new naira notes to co-exist to ease the tough time Nigerians are going through.

The Governor stated this while speaking to journalists shortly after a meeting between President Buhari and the APC governors at the State House Abuja.

New notes not enough: Governor El-Rufai, who was also in company of the Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, said the new notes in circulation are insufficient for Nigerians.

The former FCT minister explained that if the CBN had wanted to implement the cashless policy, it should have printed at least half of the amount that was mopped up for a start, which should be N1 trillion.

Nigerians going through it: Governor El Rufai lamented that many Nigerians are suffering, even as traders of perishable goods are losing their wares daily from low patronage.

Citing tomatoes as an example, El-Rufai said some sellers from the North who travelled to Lagos with their goods experienced wastage because buyers lacked the cash to purchase them.

Therefore, the governors appealed to the President to consider their request.
Asked about Buhari’s response, he said the President did not reply with a “yes” or “no.”
El-Rufai disclosed that the Chairman of Progressive Governors Forum, Abubakar Bagudu, is meeting the President behind closed doors hoping to get a definite response.