The Senate, on Tuesday, resolved to investigate the printing of new Naira notes by Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc (NSPMC) in 2022.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had embarked on a Naira redesign including major Naira notes and said that by December 2022, it would start circulating the new ones.
The affected denominations were N100, N200, N500, and N1000.
However, The Chairman of the Senate Public Accounts Committee (SPAC), Ahmed Wadada, said that the Committee would probe the exercise when the agency appeared to respond to queries raised on the 2019 report of the Auditor General of the Federation.
One of the members of the Committee, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, was the first to suggest the proposed probe into the printing of new Naira notes.
While speaking during the Committee meeting, Oshiomhole told the Managing Director of the agency to come with the documents related to the printing of new Naira notes.
According to him, “When coming to see us, you should come with documents related to the printing of new naira notes, to enable us to see how much was printed, how much was spent on printing the new Naira notes because this one happened under your nose.”
The Chairman immediately interjected Senator Oshiomole saying “This will come under status inquiry. The Committee will write and your response will determine how you flow.”
Recall that the 2023 Nigerian currency crisis was precipitated by the shortage of cash currency (the Naira) and an attempt by the Nigerian government to force citizens to use a newly created government-sponsored Central Bank digital currency. This led to extensive street protests in mid-February 2023.
The former Governor of Apex Bank, Godwin Emefiele, initially said that Nigerians hoarding notes in their homes were the reason for the currency redesign just as he later claimed that the idea would deter counterfeiters and those paying kidnappers ransoms, and that it was a step towards a cashless society.
