Report Claims Old N200 Notes Not Enough, Constitutes Only 9% of Currency in Circulation
- President Buhari's directive to recirculate the old N200 notes into the system might just be a flash in the pan.
- This is because the N200 notes constitute less than 10 percent of the total volume of currency in circulation in the last seven years.
- With this in mind, the recirculation of N200 notes may not have a commendable impact in resolving the current scarcity.
A report has claimed that the old N200 notes that President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered to be returned into circulation will not be enough as the denomination only constitutes about 9.19% of the currency in circulation before the mop-up.
This was revealed by Dataphyte, a media, research, and data analytics organisation, in a recent report on the issues of naira scarcity.
Source: UGC
It would be recalled that during his nationwide broadcast on Thursday, February 16, 2023, President Buhari directed that the Central Bank of Nigeria and deposit money banks recirculate the old N200 notes and allow Nigerians to continue its use until April 10.
This directive followed protests and vandalism as a result of the recent scarcity of the new N200, N500, and N1000 notes.
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The CBN had earlier issued a February 10 deadline for Nigerians to deposit old N200, N500 and N1000 denominations at their respective banks in the hopes that the new notes will be recirculated into the system via over-the-counter, ATM and PoS withdrawals.
What Dataphyte is saying about N200 notes
According to Dataphyte, recirculating N200 notes will be a scratch in the pan as N200 constituted less than 10 percent of total volume of currency in circulation in the last seven years.
The research organisation insists that based on CBN's annual economic report, the highest volume of N200 notes was circulated in 2021. During that year, 1.2 billion pieces of N200 notes were put into circulation by the apex bank.
This figure represented 11.48 percent of 10.687 billion pieces of currency notes of different denominations in circulation that year.
In 2021, N1000 and N500 notes had the highest volumes in circulation, with 1.933 billion and 2.003 billion pieces, respectively.
In the seven years reviewed, the lowest number of N200 notes was recorded in 2015 when 401.63 million pieces were put into circulation.
This year, N1000 and N500 have had the highest volumes in circulation, with 1.011 billion and 1.322 billion pieces, respectively.
With this in mind, the recirculation of N200 notes may not have a commendable impact in resolving the current scarcity.
Source: UGC
President Buhari orders the recirculation of old N200 notes
In his latest nationwide broadcast, President Buhari directed that the old N200 note can continue to function as legal tender in Nigeria until April 10, 2023. It should co-exist with the new N200, N500 and N1000 notes until the deadline elapses.
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Going by the President's directive, the February 10 deadline on the use of old N500 and N1000 notes remains, regardless of the Supreme Court's ruling.
Following a meeting with President Buhari and the House of Representatives Special Ad Hoc Committee on Naira Redesign Policy, Cashless Policy, and Currency Swap, the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele appealed to deposit money banks to release the old N200 notes to Nigerians.
It would be recalled that after some governors took the Federal Government to court on the matter, the Supreme Court on February 15 gave a ruling temporarily suspending the deadline.
Since Buhari's new directive, some governors have gone against the president, directing their citizens to continue using the old notes as legal tender and threatening to punish businesses and banks that reject the currencies.
Source: Legit.ng
