We lack capacity to print enough new notes – Emefiele

DAILY TRUST 

Amidst the cash crisis bedevilling the country and the expectations of Nigerians that President Muhammadu Buhari would resolve the matter in seven days as promised, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said the apex bank does not have the capacity to print adequate new naira notes.

Emefiele made the disclosure on Friday when he briefed the emergency meeting of the National Council of State, sources who attended the meeting told PREMIUM TIMES.

On Friday, Mr Emefiele told the leaders that the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Plc (The Mint), suffers capacity constraints, resulting in the failure to print adequate new notes to replace the old N200, N500 and 1,000 notes.

“The Mint has run out of papers to print N500 and 1,000 notes. They have placed orders with a German firm and De La Rue of the UK (for papers) but they have been placed on a long waiting list, so their orders cannot be met now.

“The Mint had received CBN’s request to print 70million copies of the new notes, totalling N126billion to be pumped into circulation by today (yesterday), The Mint doesn’t have the capacity,” a source told PREMIUM TIMES.

Meanwhile, Mr Buhari was non-committal at the meeting and barely spoke, the source added. He left the meeting as the time for the Muslim’s Jummah prayer drew close and his deputy, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, took over.

Osinbajo said the president would take a decision.

Meanwhile, seven days after President Muhammadu Buhari promised to address the cash crisis that hit the country following the naira redesign and old…