By BASHIR ADEFAKA
A fresh press statement, purportedly issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and strengthened by its appearance on Facebook page of a “highly placed Nigerian” (names withheld), has been busted. CBN Press Release
The statement, on Tuesday, claimed that the CBN governor Godwin Emefiele, having met with President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, has directed that N200, N500 and N1,000 old naira notes now be reissued as legal tender till another 70 days, purportedly.
Some citizens, who spoke to The DEFENDER in Ibadan, Lagos, Abuja and Awka on why they shared the a CBN statement they did not confirm its authenticity on their various social media pages and platforms, attributed their confidence to the fact that it was posted by the ‘highly placed Nigerian’, who is leader of a political party presidential campaign wing.
But the CBN, in a statement joined signed by its Deputy Governor, Corporate Services, Edward L. Adamu, and Director, Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi, and dated February 21, 2023, said the statement was no more than a fake document.
The apex bank said, “The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria has been drawn to a FAKE PRESS RELEASE Purported to have emanated from the Bank to the effect that President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the reissuance and release of old N500 and N1000 notes as legal tender in the country.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Central Bank of Nigeria reiterates that in line with the directives of Mr. President, only N200 old notes are to be reissued and to circulate concurrently with the new notes. Members of the public are therefore advised to ignore this fake news.
“The Bank is working with the law enforcement agencies to investigate, apprehend and prosecute the purveyors of this fake news.
“Please be guided accordingly,” it said.
Surprises
Involvement of the “highly placed Nigerian”, as the fake news was first found on her verified Facebook page on Tuesday, has been described as a surprise calling back to The DEFENDER’s report on Friday in which a stalwart of All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Muiz Banire (SAN), revealed that APC governors fighting against the new naira redesign policy of their own party-led Federal Government, amidst mockery by main opposition, was for no other reason than vote-buying.
Many have also linked the poor performance of the new naira policy to conspiracy emanating from what they called “APC versus APC” war now clearly explained by the “highly placed Nigerian’s” involvement in the peddling of fake CBN statements as widely seen by Nigerians home and abroad on Tuesday.
