President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Mallam Tijani Isa, has advised the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to find a lasting solution to the economic challenges occasioned by its recent monetary policy of the currency redesign.
This came several weeks after the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, following a presidential approval, announced the bank’s plan to redesign the local currency.
Speaking on ICAN’s position on the naira redesign at a programme commemorating the Accounting International Day 2022, the ICAN President acknowledged the CBN’s decision, but called for a consideration of the production cost of the new naira notes.
“We acknowledge the Central Bank of Nigeria’s objectives in its recent initiative to redesign the naira: discourage hoarding of banknotes by members of the public, address the worsening shortage of clean banknotes and reduce the increasing risk and ease of counterfeiting.
“While ICAN would soon release its position on this policy initiative, it suffices to say that the CBN should consider the views of the various stakeholders and ensure that critical issues, such as the cost of designing and printing the new currency notes, the timing of the policy, the policy’s likely impact on inflation and exchange rates, are satisfactorily addressed”, Isa said.
He continued that, “at the country level, several socio-economic imbalances are biting hard on citizens. Inflation at the end of the third quarter 2022 was 20.77 percent, the highest in seventeen years. This is amidst declining purchasing power of citizens.
“To successfully address the problems of inflation, Nigeria must adopt both short and long-term.”
He noted that the skyrocketing exchange rate has far-reaching effects on manufacturers and service providers in the economy, thereby calling on authorities to look into tackling the challenges.
The Accounting International Day was marked by health walk in Lagos and other parts of the country. It is observed globally on November 10 annually.