eNaira update from CBN: nothing to worry about

The eNaira, the nation’s digital currency, does not endanger the financial stability of Nigeria, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which has told its citizens.

This was said on Monday in Marrakech by Dr. Isa AbdulMumin, Director of the CBN’s Corporate Communications Department.

AbdulMumin was responding to a recent media report that caused concern about the possibility that issues with financial stability may exist with Nigeria’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), the eNaira.

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The eNaira, despite its success in bridging the country’s financial inclusion gap, was reportedly a potential threat to financial stability, according to a media report that featured articles from a book recently published by the CBN.

It claimed that since its beginning, the amount of bank deposits converted to eNaira has increased by an average of 78.3% per month, or around N1.66 billion.

A review of the paper, in Abdulmumin’s opinion, shows a lack of comprehension of various sections of several pages in a book recently published by the CBN titled “Economics of Digital Currencies.”

“The attention of regulators, like the CBN, in the role of cryptocurrencies as speculative investments and the potential threat they pose to financial stability is a constant issue in the book.

The book’s essays, he claimed, “provide an in-depth understanding of CBDCs generally, as well as the functioning of the Naira.”

The director gave the assurance that as the eNaira structure developed, it was going through changes aimed at enhancing the user experience “across all interfaces.”

According to AbdulMumin, “We encourage Nigerians to embrace technology for a variety of reasons, including increased financial inclusion.

Godwin Emefiele, a former CBN governor, came up with the idea for eNaira, which former President Muhammadu Buhari launched in October 2021.

The CBDC was initially adopted by Nigeria in Africa.