Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, has warned Nigerians against abusing the nation’s currency, reiterating that spraying, hawking, and mutilation of the naira remain prohibited.
Cardoso, who was represented by the Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Mrs. Hakama Sidi Ali, spoke on Thursday at the CBN Fair held in Kaduna.
He explained that the fair was designed as a platform to engage the public on CBN policies aimed at fostering sustainable economic growth and development.
The fair, themed “Driving Alternative Payment Channels as Tools for Financial Inclusion, Growth and Accelerated Economic Development,” focused on strengthening the payment system to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and promote price stability.
“I urge everyone here to rely only on information disseminated through verifiable official channels of the Central Bank of Nigeria,” Cardoso said. “I also encourage you to respect and keep the naira clean. Do not spray, hawk, mutilate or counterfeit the naira. It is our critical national symbol.”
He added that the core objective of the engagement was to educate the public on how the Bank’s policies impact their livelihoods and contribute to national development.
Cardoso highlighted recent CBN initiatives such as the unification of exchange rates to minimize arbitrage opportunities and reduce foreign exchange market volatility, the clearance of over $7 billion in verified FX forwards to restore confidence, and ongoing bank recapitalisation efforts to strengthen the resilience and competitiveness of the banking sector in support of Nigeria’s $1 trillion economy target.
He also cited the introduction of the Non-Resident BVN to connect Nigerians abroad to home banking, the launch of the Nigeria Payments System Vision 2028 to drive digital transformation and deepen financial inclusion, and the rollout of the Unified Complaints Tracking System and USSD code (*959#) to streamline consumer complaints and verify licensed financial institutions, improving transparency and customer confidence.
He stressed that these reforms were already yielding positive results, including increased foreign investment inflows, improved trade balances, and significant progress in financial inclusion.
Earlier, the Kaduna Branch Controller of the CBN, Ahmad Dalhatu, reaffirmed that the CBN fair remains one of the Bank’s key public enlightenment initiatives.
“It serves as a platform to deepen financial literacy, promote transparency, and strengthen trust between the Bank and the Nigerian people,” Dalhatu said.
“The fair enables us not only to explain our policies but also to listen to the public’s concerns and feedback.”
He urged participants to actively engage in the discussions, emphasising that increased public awareness of monetary policy, consumer protection, and digital payments is crucial to building a sound financial system and an inclusive economy.
