EXAMINATION OF THE LOOPHOLES IN THE RECENT CURRENCY REDESIGN AND CASHLESS ECONOMY POLICY IN NIGERIA
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Date
2024-12-20
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LexrSciptio: A journal of the Department of Jurisprudence and Public Law, KWASU
Abstract
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced on 26 October 2022, the redesign of three out of
the eight Naira notes in circulation. The move is geared towards entrenching the cashless
economy policy. According to the CBN, over 85% of the currency in circulation is kept outside
the vaults of commercial banks, which has encouraged kidnapping and the demand for ransom
by kidnapers in Nigeria. This Paper attempts to look at the loopholes in the cashless economy
and currency redesign policy. The method adopted in carrying out this research work is doctrinal
research method. The study revealed that one of the major problems of the cashless policy was
wrong timing, that is, the policy was introduced very close to the 2022 general elections. Another
problem identified was the three months’ time frame given to Nigerians to swap old notes for new
ones which was too short. Similarly, the CBN acted in contravention of The Money Laundering
(Prevention and Prohibition) Act passed into Law on May 17 2022, to set standard and promote
the effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money
laundering, The Paper recommends that, for the cashless policy to be successful, the e-payment
system needs to be upgraded in Nigeria, and the time to swap old currency notes for new notes
should not be too short as to bring untold hardship on the people.