Tag: new notes

New Notes: Australia to redesign currency, set to remove Queen Elizabeth’s image

Australia government has concluded plans to remove the British monarch from its banknotes, with no plans of replacing her successor on the new notes.

According to the Australian government, it would be replacing the late Queen Elizabeth II’s image on its $5 note, saying the new notes will come with a design honouring Indigenous culture, in the country.

The decision to leave her successor King Charles III off the $5 note means no monarch would remain on Australia’s paper currency.

The statement says that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) said it would consult Indigenous people on a new design that “honours the culture and history of the First Australians”.

Queen Elizabeth’s death on September 8 last year was marked by public mourning in Australia but some Indigenous groups also protested against the destructive impact of colonial Britain, calling for the abolition of the monarchy.

Australia is a constitutional monarchy, a democracy with Charles III as its head of state. A referendum proposing a switch to a republic was narrowly defeated in 1999.

The central bank said its decision was supported by the centre-left Labor government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who favours an eventual move to an Australian republic.

The new banknote would take “a number of years” to be designed and printed, it said, with the existing $5 note remaining legal tender even after the new design is in people’s hands.

In addition, the RBA’s move was hailed by the nation’s republican movement, which noted that Indigenous people predated British settlement by 65,000 years.

“Australia believes in meritocracy so the idea that someone should be on our currency by birthright is irreconcilable, as is the notion that they should be our head of state by birthright,” said Australian Republic Movement chair Craig Foster.

“To think that an unelected king should be on our currency in place of First Nations leaders and elders and eminent Australians is no longer justifiable at a time of truth-telling, reconciliation and ultimately formal, cultural and intellectual independence.”

The Australian Monarchist League said the decision was “virtually neo-communism in action”.

February 2, 2023
New Notes: Emefiele reels out benefits, says Naira already stabilizing

It’s no longer news that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele has announced the extension of deposit of old notes at the bank to the 10th of February, 2023.

The extension became necessary following the inability of banks and POS operators to dispense the new note and the difficulty experienced by Nigerians in exchanging their old notes for new notes.

Meanwhile, Emefiele in a statement issued on Sunday monday, said the decision to redesign the Naira was already paying off as inflation has started trending downwards and exchange rates relatively stable.

He added that the military is already making good progress in combating banditry and ransom-taking in Nigeria through this programme.

Emefiele noted that available data has shown that in 2015, currency in circulation was only N1.4 trillion.

But as of October 2022, currency in circulation had risen to N3.23 trillion; out of which only N500 billion was within the banking industry and N2.7 trillion held permanently in people’s homes.

The CBN Governor said ordinarily when CBN releases currency into circulation, it is meant to be used and after effluxion of time, it returns to the CBN thereby keeping the volume of currency in circulation under the firm control of the CBN.

He said: “So far and since the commencement of this programme, we have collected about N1.9 trillion; leaving us with about N900 billion.

“Aside from those holding illicit or stolen naira in their homes for speculative purposes, we do aim to give all Nigerians that have naira legitimately earned and trapped, the opportunity to deposit their legitimately trapped monies at the CBN for exchange.

“A seven-day grace period, beginning on February 10 to February 17, 2023, in compliance with Sections 20(3) and 22 of the CBN Act allowing Nigerians to deposit their old notes at the CBN after the February deadline when the old currency would have lost its Legal Tender status.”

January 29, 2023
2023: Tinubu berates president Buhari’s administration over fuel scarcity, new notes

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) Bola Tinubu, has berated the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari over the new naira redesign and the fuel scarcity that has persisted for many months now.

Tinubu alleged that some persons were sabotaging his presidential ambition through the new naira redesign and the scarcity of petrol.

The former Lagos governor made this statement during his campaign rally in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital on Tuesday.

According to Tinubu, the authorities were deliberately hoarding petrol and naira notes, a development he speculated was calculated to affect his chances negatively.

Jagaban as he’s fondly called threatened that he and his supporters would hijack power from the current government through their permanent voter’s cards, PVC.

“With our PVC, we will wrest power from them. Even if they said there is no fuel, we will trek. They are full of hanky panky. They are cleverly creating fuel scarcity. Let the fuel continue to be scarce, they know where they hoard it.

January 25, 2023
Governors set up committee to work with CBN on new notes

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has set up a six-member committee to engage the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to address anomalies in the country’s monetary management and financial system.

The forum disclosed this in a communique issued on Saturday at the end of its virtual meeting held with the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, on Thursday night.

The committee, according to the communique signed by NGF Chairman, Gov. Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, is chaired by Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Charles Soludo, with governors of Akwa Ibom, Ogun, Borno, Plateau and Jigawa states as members.

The governors said that while they were not opposed to the objectives of the Naira redesign policy, the apex bank should consider the peculiarities of households and states, especially pertaining to financial inclusion and under-served locations.

“We, the members of the NGF, received a briefing from the Governor of the CBN, Emefiele, on the Naira redesign, its economic and security implications including the new withdrawal policy.

“Governors are not opposed to the objectives of the Naira redesign policy.

“However, we observe that there are huge challenges that remain problematic to the Nigerian populace.

“In the circumstances, governors expressed the need for the CBN to consider the peculiarities of states especially as they pertained to financial inclusion and under-served locations.”

The governors resolved to work closely with the CBN leadership to ameliorate areas that required policy variation, particularly the poorest households, the vulnerable in society and several other Nigerians excluded.

The governors also resolved to collaborate with the CBN and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) in advancing genuine objectives within the confines of the laws.

They, however, insisted that the recent NFIU Advisory and Guidelines on cash transactions were simply outside the NFIU’s legal remit and mandate

January 21, 2023
Banks sabotaging efforts on new notes – CBN

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has blamed commercial banks for sabotaging its efforts in replacing mutilated notes with new ones in the country.

Mr Isaac Okorafor, Acting Director, Communications Department of the CBN, made the allegation in Lagos on Thursday in an interview.

Okoroafor was reacting to lamentation from Nigerians on the high level of mutilated notes in the country.

The CBN spokesperson said that the apex bank was aware of the development and had taken several measures to addressing the rising incidence of mutilated notes in the country.

According to him, one of the steps taken by the CBN in mopping up the mutilated notes from the system was reduction in the amount it charges banks for sorting the dirty notes for clean ones from N12,000 to N1,000 per box.

Okorafor said that the reduction in charges for the commercial banks which lasted for three months from Jan. 2 to March 28 was to encourage them to bring back more dirty notes to CBN.

He said the sorting charges which used to be N12,000 was later raised to N2,000 per box after the March 28 deadline when the window was closed.

The director said the opportunity was limited to lower denomination naira notes comprising N50, N20 and N10 notes.

A cross section of Nigerians have expressed disgust over the mutilated notes in circulation, mainly smaller denomination comprising of N5, N10, N20, N50 and N100 notes.

He hinted that the bank had adopted another option of withdrawing the unfit notes from circulations rather than depending mainly on the commercial banks on the task.

Okorafor said that the bank had started engaging associations in various markets to encourage traders to change genuine dirty notes for new ones.

This, he added, would not attract any cost to traders.

“The bank has already taken the new measure to Kano, Kaduna and Abuja and also intends to bring it to the south,” he said.

On hoarding and selling of new currency notes, Okorafor said the serial numbers of the ones given out to the public would be used to trace whoever perpetuated the act.

He however, appealed to Nigerians to handle the national currency with care as it was a symbol of identity and value and should be handled with respect.

Okorafor urged the public to always demand for new notes instead of collecting dirty notes from banks.

May 11, 2018