The Community Action for Popular Participation, CAPP has condemned the introduction of N5,000 note. Mrs. Kyuata Giwa Executive Director CAPP in Abuja yesterday, argued that the introduction of the high currency denomination would not be in the interest of Nigerians but would rather draw back government efforts at ensuriing that the country became one of the 20 most developed economies of the world by 2020.
The Central Bank of Nigeria had on Thursday , August 24, 2012, announced plan to introduce a N5000 note into circulation next year. In addition it said that N 20, N10 and N5 would be coined, while the existing N50, N100, N200 and N1000 would also be redesigned with added new security features and launched at the same time.
Though CAPP commended the CBN for the innovation in redesigning the Naira bills and the immortalization of the three Nigerian women, Fumilayo Kuti, Margaret Ekpo and Gambo Sawaba on the proposed N5000 bill but believed that the new denomination would rather do a major damage to the already ailing economy of the country.
Again the plan to transit to a cashless economy would be defeated, just as it would also send a wrong signal to the international community, some of whom have lately been developing interests in exploring the investment opportunities in the country.
This proposal makes more political sense than economic, as there is no known economic theory, or study, anywhere in the world which proves that the higher a country's currency denominations the higher the economic growth.
The current economic growth in China, India and Brazil has no connection with high denomination of their currencies and neither are those of the USA, Japan, Britain, France, Russia and the like.
CAPP warns that the new denomination will boost corruption, rubbish efforts to fight it and allow individuals to carry large sums of money on them, while at the same time helping to devaluate the existing strength of Naira. CAPP is of the opinion that the idea of restructuring the Naira seems a grossly misplaced priority, coming at such a time when Nigerians are more concerned with the question of how to put 3 square meals on the table and battling with high costs of goods and services accentuated by the removal of subsidies on petroleum products.
Although we understand that the CBN has the prerogative to take the decision being the nation's apex banking institution, it must take into cognizance the fact that whatever action it takes will not only impact on the CBN and its staff but on the generality of Nigerians who ought to have been carried along in the process, and we therefore see the move as anti people.
We believe that the introduction of N5000 will further broaden the divide between the rich and the poor of Nigeria, as millions of Nigerian citizens can hardly lay their fingers on a N5000 note.
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