A legal practitioner, Dapo Oyewumi has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to immediately find a solution to the inflationary effect the intended naira redesign is having on the economy.
Oyewumi, who made the appeal during Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday, said prices of commodities have further gone up since the new policy was announced.
“The fact that it (naira redesign) has put pressure on the exchange rate, I’m not sure that is a good story. Even the average market woman, if you go to the market will tell you that the price of dollar has changed between last week and now so her prices have to change. So it has a very strong inflationary tendency on the economy,” he said.
The CBN last Wednesday announced that it will release redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 notes effective December 15, 2022.
The demands for the dollar have since risen after the announcement by the apex bank.
However, Oyewumi noted that the immediate effect of the planned redesign of the naira on the economy should have been anticipated and properly dealt with.
“I didn’t quarrel with that policy in itself if there is really a strong need for the policy but the effects should have been anticipated and managed,” he added.