Former CBN governor, Muhammadu Sanusi, says his successor, Godwin Emefiele, has promised to keep the Arabic inscription (Ajami) on the new naira notes.

“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,” Mr Sanusi said.

“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,” he added.

The dethroned Emir of Kano made this statement on Monday, according to Daily Nigerian.

“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,” Mr Sanusi added.

Mr Sanusi’s statement comes amid the apex bank’s plans to redesign some naira notes.

Last week, Mr Emefiele announced the decision to change select naira notes, having “obtained the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari to redesign, produce, and circulate new series of banknotes at N100, N200, N500, and N1,000 levels.”

Mr Emefiele said one of the reasons for the withdrawal of existing notes is to frustrate bandits who are in the habit of collecting huge cash in ransom.

He said more than 80 per cent of the total money in circulation was out of bank vaults.