…says ’500m mints ordered’
Central Bank of Nigeria Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability, Aisha Ahmad, on Thursday, told the House of Representatives that she does not know the quantity of notes printed in the recent redesign of the Naira.
Recently, CBN had introduced new N200, N500 and N1,000 notes, with concerns that the newly designed denominations are scarce in circulation.
Responding to questions from the lawmakers, Ahmad, who represented CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said she could not ascertain the exact amount and the number of notes printed.
She said she would not like to give a wrong figure.
Her response caused commotion in the chamber as several members expressed surprise at her statement.
Later, the CBN deputy governor said a total of 500 million mints were ordered.
But she also failed to answer questions about how much was spent on naira redesign, and whether the amount was appropriated by the National Assembly.
Details later…