Currency-in-Circulation across the nation continued its rise and fall, dropping N88.093bn or 3.93% month-on-month in March 2019, according to data available on the website of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday evening.
According to the CBN, currency outside of bank vaults across the country stood at N2.153tr at the end of March, declining from the N2.241tr recorded at the end of February.
On a Year-to-Date basis, currency in circulation dropped by N176.486bn or 7.58% from N2.329tr reported at the end of December 2018.
The high volume of cash within the system has been blamed on election spending within the period, given that the nation’s general election finally began on February 23, after a week’s delay with the Presidential and National Assembly polls. This was followed on March 6, 2019, by the Governorship and House of Assembly elections. Recall that there were several rerun elections at weekends and even some weekdays during the month under review in the cases of inconclusive elections in some states and National Assembly seats.
Year-on-Year, the value of cash outside of Nigeria’s banking system rose by N113.896bn or 5.58% from N2.039tr recorded in March 2018.
In February, Nigeria’s currency-in-circulation increased year-on-year by a whopping N303.976bn or 15.69% at N2.241tr in February 2019, from N1.937tr in February 2018.
Besides the political undertone to the rise in cash outside the banks, the CBN has seemingly de-emphasized and/or lost the political will to pursue its cashless policy initiative which initially resulted in noticeable drops in heavy cash transactions.