Economic analysts at Quartus Economics have urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to introduce higher-value naira notes of ₦10,000 and ₦20,000 to restore the currency’s portability and ease the rising cost of cash transactions.
In a report titled “Is Africa’s Eagle Stuck or Soaring Back to Life?” the firm said the continued depreciation of the naira had rendered the ₦1,000 note — Nigeria’s highest denomination — nearly obsolete in real purchasing power.
“To make the naira portable again, Nigeria can introduce higher-value bills, such as ₦10,000 or ₦20,000 notes, or redenominate the currency entirely,” the report said.
Quartus Economics noted that a ₦5,000 note proposed in 2012 would now be equivalent to about ₦50,000 in today’s value, citing a 94% decline in the naira’s real worth over the past two decades.
The analysts dismissed concerns that issuing higher-denomination notes could fuel inflation, calling such fears “a myth unsupported by evidence.” Inflation, they argued, is driven by cost-push and demand-pull factors, not by currency denominations.
“When the ₦1,000 note was introduced in 2005, it was worth nearly $7 at the official exchange rate. Today, it is valued at less than 60 US cents,” the report said, highlighting the naira’s sharp erosion in value.
The depreciation, the analysts added, has made cash-based transactions increasingly cumbersome, especially in the informal sector, where many traders and rural consumers carry large sums for everyday purchases.
Quartus Economics also said the cost of printing, transporting and securing low-value notes had become prohibitive for the central bank, urging the introduction of higher-value bills or a broader redenomination to reduce expenses and improve transaction efficiency.
“Outside the formal sector and the urban elite, the naira’s heavy weight is a drag on the economy,” it said. “The cost of printing and transporting today’s low-value notes is prohibitive.”
The firm stressed that the recommendation was not a call for printing more money but for modernising Nigeria’s currency structure to reflect economic realities and align with practices in other emerging markets.
The report recalled that the CBN, under then-Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, proposed a ₦5,000 note in 2012 but abandoned the plan after public opposition. Quartus Economics said the same policy rationale remains relevant today given the naira’s steep decline.
It estimated the 94% loss in value using prices of key goods and services — with a kilogram of imported rice rising from about ₦150 in 2005 to ₦2,500 today, and a one-way flight from Lagos to Abuja climbing from ₦12,000 to over ₦150,000.
“These indicators show how much the naira has lost its purchasing power, and a higher-value note is needed to make the naira portable,” the report said.