Moghalu Criticises CBN’s Godwin Emefiele Over Redesigned Naira Notes

The former Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Kingsley Moghalu, has again criticised current CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, for politicising the apex bank.

Moghalu said the criticism trailing the redesigned naira notes is due to Emefiele politicising the office. Recall that there have been multiple reports of the CBN governor’s presidential ambition for 2023 election, before he stepped down the intention.

In a long thread regarding the circumstances surrounding the release of the redesigned naira notes, Moghalu said the decision by CBN is right, as it will improve the value of naira.

However, he said the 30-day timeframe for the release is too short, that a 90-day period would have been better for the successful implementation of the policy.

The statement released by Moghalu reads, “The CBN is an independent statutory corporation. It is not a Ministry, Department or Agency (MDA). Many people don’t understand this. The nature and functions of central banking require that it is independent.

“I suspect that part of why the currency redesign has been so controversial is that there is a trust deficit between the Nigerian public and the current leadership of the Bank, which needlessly politicized the Bank. This also is a function of the kind of political leadership and government we have.

“But as I said, on this matter the CBN is well within its rights. Will the move succeed? I don’t know. If it is 50-60% successful that would be great in reality, because many vested interests in Nigeria, some pure criminals, have a spectacular capacity for negative innovation.

“Again, as I have said, the time window between December 15 and January 31 2023 is a bit short. A 90-day window would have been more ideal, and so the move should perhaps have come earlier so as not to have a disruptive effect on the 2023 elections in February.

“Regarding the impact of the currency redesign on the value of the naira, I and many others foresaw this. But the problem with the value of the naira is more fundamental. Even without this currency redesign, I predicted many months ago that the naira hit 1000 naira to $1 by the end of this year just based on economic fundamentals.

“The redesign is a temporary operation, so its own specific impact of naira value will be temporary. We will then return to the real issues about naira value. That requires a complete overhaul of economic thinking & management.”