By; PETER NOSAKHARE, Kaduna
The Nigerian government is in the process of making the country a cashless economy, Godwin Emefiele, Governor of Nigeria’s Central Bank (CBN), speaking during the Nigeria Capital Markets and Banking Forum in London, U.K., on Friday, said the Nigerian government is looking to plug a 2017 budget deficit that it forecast at 2.3 trillion naira, or 2.2 percent of GDP following a revenue shortfall caused by the decline of output and price of oil, its main export.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has said that paper currency will soon be out of circulation, urging market men and women to sign into the e-Naira.
The Delta State Branch Controller of CBN, Mr Godwin Okafor, stated this on Friday at the popular Ogbogonogo market during the market sensitisation on e-Naira. He urged traders to key into the central bank’s e-Naira policy.He said, “We are here at the market today to sensitise the market people on the use of e-Naira. It is fully backed by CBN, unlike Bitcoin which has no legal backing.
Consultant of CBN on e-Naira, Dr. Aminu Bizi, said Delta was chosen as the second state to sensitise market women on e-Naira after Lagos.
“We are here to sensitise market men and women, shop to shop on the use of e-Naira. CBN has gone behind ATM, POS, therefore, we are going to meet the Okada/tricycle union on this policy.
“Paper currency will soon be out of circulation because CBN spent money to print money and people abuse the currency in the market, spraying at the occasion, payment of Okada/tricycle and others and CBN is losing”
He said the use of e-Naira was effective, charges free unlike ATM and POS and cannot be hacked by fraudsters.
In his remark, the Secretary to the State Government, Chief Patrick Ukah, applauded the development, urging Nigerians to accept the move.
