Olusola Bello
President Muhammadu Buhari is to launch the e-Naira at the State House today, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
The digital currency had been earmarked for public presentation on October 1 but the CBN shelved the plans citing key activities lined up for Independence Day.
Osita Nwanisobi, CBN’s Director of Corporate Communications, has in a statement however stated that the event will come up today
The eNaira, which is intended to complement the physical Naira rather than replace it, will “make financial transactions easier and seamless for every strata of the society,” the CBN said.
The CBN banned crypto transactions within the banking sector in February and four months later announced plans to introduce the eNaira. The apex bank officials have struggled with cryptocurrency’s rising use in the country
The eNaira will be accompanied by a wallet sanctioned by the CBN that users can either link to their bank accounts or pay as they go with a prepay option.
“The launching of the eNaira is a culmination of several years of research work by the Central Bank of Nigeria in advancing the boundaries of payments system in order to make financial transactions easier and seamless for every strata of the society.”
Following series of engagements with relevant stakeholders including the banking community, fintech operators, merchants and indeed, a cross section of Nigerians, the CBN designed the digital currency, which shall be activated today, Monday, October 25, 2021, the bank stated.
“The eNaira therefore marks a major step forward in the evolution of money and the CBN is committed to ensuring that the eNaira, like the physical Naira, is accessible by everyone.
Osita stated that, given that the eNaira is a journey, the unveiling marks the first step in that journey, which will continue with a series of further modifications, capabilities and enhancements to the platforms.
He said the CBN will continue to work with relevant partners to ensure a seamless process that will benefit every user, particularly those in the rural areas and the unbanked population.
“Since the eNaira is a new product, and amongst the first CBDCs in the world, we have put a structure to promptly address any issue that might arise from the pilot implementation of the eNaira.
“Accordingly, following Monday’s formal launch by the President, the Bank will further engage various stakeholders as we enter a new age consistent with global financial advancement.
“The theme of the eNaira is: “Same Naira, more possibilities”.
“Visit the website to explore the benefits of our eNaira: www.enaira.gov.ng.”
Meanwhile, the country experienced slight improvement in her economic activities in August, compared to July, according to the apex bank.
The CBN said in a report on its last Monetary Policy Committee meeting stated that the manufacturing and non-manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Indices showed improvement over time.
It, however, noted that this was still below the 50-index point benchmark.
The committee report noted the moderate improvement in both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Indices, though still below the 50-index point benchmark, showed a marked improvement over time.
“In August 2021, the manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMIs improved to 46.9 index points apiece, compared with 46.6 and 44.8 index points, respectively, in July 2021.”
It said this was attributed to an increase in new orders, driven largely by rising demand, uptrend in business activity and further normalisation of economic activities
“Similarly, the employment level index component of the manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMIs in August 2021 improved to 49.4 and 48.8 index points, respectively, compared with 46.5 and 47.0 index points in July 2021,” it said.
