A Trade and Investment Expert, Ikenna Nwosu has said the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to redesign some naira notes will increase the dollarization of the Nigerian economy.
The expert, who spoke on a Channels TV programme on Thursday, hours after CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele announced that the apex bank will issue the redesigned 200, 500 and 1000 naira notes, effective December 15, 2022.
Nwosu acknowledged that the move by the CBN will help bring back a lot of money into the system but not all stashed funds will be recovered.
“Why am I saying they may not get all the money in, but I believe they will get a lot in? It is because politicians are going to start using the naira to buy dollars; because they are going to be afraid to pay the cash. So, there will be increased dollarization of the economy. They won’t buy pounds because pounds will soon be changed because there is a new king.
“So, there is going to be dollarization and that has national security implication again…that is going to affect impact on inflation,” he said.
Nwosu, who is the Chief Executive Officer Mooregate Limited, Investment Advisory, said there has to be a collaborative efforts from all stakeholders including the Economic and Financial Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Nigeria Police Force to address the heightened dollarization possibility.
