The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has attributed the currency crisis to The Mint’s inability to create enough new naira notes to replace the old N200, N500, and N1,000 denominations.
The Mint’s capacity issues, according to CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, have hampered the central bank’s attempt to replenish the banking system with enough fresh currency.
The CBN Governor reportedly said this on Friday, February 10, 2023, when addressing the National Council of State’s emergency meeting.
According to a source who spoke with online publication — Premium Times, the CBN requested that The Mint create 70 million copies of the new notes, totalling N126 billion.
The money was supposed to be put into circulation on Friday, however, the source claims that the request was unable to be fulfilled because: “The Mint doesn’t have the capacity.”
“The Mint has run out of papers to print N500 and 1,000 notes,” a source said, explaining the supply constraints The Minit faces.
“They have placed orders with a German firm and De La Rue of the UK (for papers) but they have been placed on a long waiting list so their orders cannot be met now,” the platform added.
