Abstract

This paper examines the 2022-naira currency redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) within a historical and institutional context. It interrogates the stated objectives of the redesign exercise—curbing inflation, reducing currency counterfeiting, combating illicit financial activities, and encouraging financial inclusion—while also exploring the policy’s implications for the autonomy of the CBN. Using both documentary evidence and contemporary public reactions, the study demonstrates that although currency redesign is a globally recognized monetary strategy, its success depends largely on timing, administrative capacity, and political environment. The paper argues that the 2022 policy was rolled out at a moment of heightened political sensitivity and weak financial infrastructure, which contributed to the severe liquidity shock and public hardship that followed its implementation. The episode revealed not only the institutional tensions between the CBN, the executive branch, and state governments, but also broader questions concerning public trust in monetary governance. In conclusion, while the redesign policy achieved partial success in retrieving hoarded currency and drawing informal funds into the banking system, the challenges that followed exposed structural limits to the CBN’s operational autonomy and highlighted the continuing need for comprehensive monetary and governance reforms in Nigeria.