The deposed Emir of Kano and former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Muhammadu Sanusi, has insisted that the Arabic inscription, also known as “Ajami” will not be removed from the redesigned Naira notes.
Sanusi who is also the Khalifa of the Tijaniyya Islamic sect in Nigeria dispelled the rumour that the CBN is willing to remove the inscription, adding that he had a meeting with the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, who confirmed to him that the inscription will remain in the redesigned currency.
The PUNCH, on Wednesday, had reported the CBN’s plan to redesign the N100, N200, N500 and N1000 notes by December 2022.
Although the announcement from the apex bank of the country stirred controversies, with the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, claiming not to be in the know of the plan by Emefiele before the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (Retd.) interceded that he is aware of the redesign.
Some Islamic scholars also alleged a ploy by the Federal Government to remove the Ajami inscription from the redesigned notes.
However, Sanusi discredited the position of the Islamic religious leaders, encouraging them to seek clarification in matters like this, instead of concocting misinformation for public consumption.
He said, “There has been speculation going round about the change of some naira notes. I heard various scholars commenting, with some implying that the Ajami on the naira notes would be removed.
“I want to use this medium to authoritatively confirm to the Muslim ummah that there are no such plans.
“Since the issue came up, we have spoken to some people in the Central Bank, and they confirmed to me that such a plan is non-existent.
“When the misconception becomes widespread, I spoke to the CBN governor himself, and he also confirmed to me that there is no plan whatsoever to remove the Ajami.
“So, I want to appeal to Islamic scholars to please stop acting on unsubstantiated reports.
“I know some of the scholars making these comments are doing so without investigating the information brought to them,” Sanusi maintained.
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