Emefiele, in a briefing with State House Correspondents explained that the redesign was in line with global best practices, noting that it was mandatory for the naira to be redesigned and re-issued every five to eight years.

He said it is regrettable that the naira has not been redesigned for the past eighteen years owing to lack of political will from previous administrations.

Emefiele said it was the mandate of the CBN, to redesign and re-issue the notes, stressing that the exercise would become a regular trend after five to eight years.

The CBN governor said Nigeria has gone cashless and that security agencies would monitor people making withdrawal at the counter to know how much withdrawn and also monitor the usage of the money.

He debunked suggestions that the policy was targeted at anyone, especially the political class.