SaharaReporters earlier reported that CBN had said the bank governor, Godwin Emefiele, would not honour the summons to appear before the House of Representatives on Thursday.
Aisha Ahmad, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank on Thursday, disclosed that the apex bank ordered the printing of 500 million pieces of the redesigned notes.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that CBN had said the bank governor, Godwin Emefiele, would not honour the summons to appear before the House of Representatives on Thursday.
The House of Representatives had condemned the new policy introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria limiting cash withdrawals at Deposit Money Banks and other financial institutions.
The House, therefore, summoned the CBN governor, asking him to appear and explain the policy to the Green Chamber.
But The CBN stated in a letter addressed to the House of Representatives and read by Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House, during Wednesday's plenary that Emefiele had not yet returned to the country due to official engagements and health challenges abroad.
The letter further revealed that the governor of the apex court would therefore be represented by Aisha Ahmad, CBN deputy governor, financial systems and stability, who will lead a team of high-ranking officials of the apex bank to brief the house of representatives during plenary on Thursday.
While appearing before the lawmakers, Ahmad stated that she did not have an exact figure and did not want to give an incorrect account.
During the plenary, she did, however, inform the lawmakers that 500 million of the redesigned notes had been ordered for printing.
“We ordered 500 million pieces of currency from the Mint. That was what we ordered”, Ahmad said.
She also stated that the CBN's cashless policy and naira redesign were not politically motivated.
This was in response to a question from a lawmaker, Chinedu Obidigwe, who questioned the urgency of the apex bank's policy, asking if it had anything to do with the 2023 general elections.
It should be noted that lawmakers agreed on Wednesday that a deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should appear to brief the House today (Thursday) in the absence of CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, who is away on medical leave.
Sada Soli, a lawmaker, raised concerns about the non-availability of the new notes days after they were released to the public during the CBN deputy governor's grilling and asked her to disclose the quantities of new notes printed.
However, in response to the question, the CBN deputy governor stated that she does not know the number of notes printed by the apex bank.