The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has described former President Olusegun Obasanjo as a good farmer but a bad economist.
Sanusi, who was reacting to Obasanjo’s criticism of the introduction of the N5,000 note, said that it was untrue, as postulated by the former president, that inflation would rise with the introduction of higher currency denomination.
The CBN governor who said that the cost for the printing of the new currencies would be N3 billion and not N40 billion as had been reported, told a gathering on Tuesday: “My uncle or my father, our former Head of State, General Obasanjo, you know he is a very successful farmer but he is a very bad economist and he stands up and says that this higher denomination will cause inflation and improve hardship.
“General Obasanjo did N20, he did N100, N200, N500 and N1,000.
“He introduced higher denominations in Nigeria than any former head of state.
“It is wrong for somebody, like Obasanjo, who had done this to stand up and say introducing a higher denomination will cause inflation.”
Sanusi said it was untrue that the country would print the new notes with N40 billion.
He said the figure being quoted was capable of scaring Nigerians, adding that the policy would help the country.