By Christiana Ekpa
The House of Representatives, Tuesday aaked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to re-enforce the use of coins as legal tender in Nigeria.
The House resolution followed the adoption of a motion moved by Umar Muda Lawal (APC, Bauchi).
Presenting the motion, the lawmaker reminded that, as part of the economic reforms under the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, N50, N20, N10 and N5 banknotes were reissued with new designs on February 28, 2007.
He said N1 and 50 kobo coins were reintroduced, while a new N2 coin was also introduced.
He however lamented that despite the huge budgetary sum that was expended by the Federal Government in the production of coins as part of the legal tender, the coins seem to be extinct at the moment.
He said, “The day-to-day business transactions of ordinary Nigerians have been significantly affected as the lack of coins and other lower denominations have resulted in prices being summed up to the nearest naira equivalent, a situation that can best be described as inflation in economic terms.
“While other countries make use of coins for their daily financial transactions, the Nigerian coins comprising 50kobo, N1 and N2 have not been fully utilized in that regard. Beliefs that injecting low denominations and coins into the economy will go a long way in curbing price inflation and stabilizing the economy.”
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