Fresh facts have emerged on the real reasons the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) unceremoniously suspended the launch of the e-Naira project. The CBN had last week announced the postponement of the launch of the country’s CBDC project, eNaira, citing the need to respect important events scheduled for the country’s 61st Independence anniversary.
CBN’s Director of Communications, Osita Nwasinobi, on Thursday, revealed that the suspension of the launch of the CBDC project was in respect of the current mood of “national rededication to the dream of One Nigeria.”
However, The Podium learned that the directive for the CBN to halt the launch was issued from the presidency following the deluge of protests against the e-Naira project.
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Financial analysts have also observed that the entire e-Naira project is more of a knee-jerk response by the CBN to the crisis engulfing the foreign exchange market, rather than a well-conceived plan.
Popular Nigerian activist, commonly referred to as Sega Link, advised the apex bank not to “rush” the launch of the project, saying “it should be well planned and properly strategized.”
Interestingly, the postponement is coming a day after a tech company, ENaira Payment Solutions Limited, filed a suit against the bank over the name “eNaira,” claiming it belongs to its brand. Through its team of lawyers, the company is demanding that the CBN drop the “eNaira” name.
No further information was given on when the project would be launched.
Other countries continue on the CBDC project
While Nigeria’s launch of its CBDC project is hanging, other countries in the continent and the rest of the world are stepping up their plans for their national digital currency.
As of press time, China led the pack with its digital yuan project. The Asian country has carried out a number of tests using the currency.
Apart from China, other countries like Russia, Japan, Barbados, South Korea have also advanced in their CBDC quest. In Africa, Ghana, Tunisia, Madagascar have also continued to work on their CBDC project.
