The CBN’s newly revealed Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade, and Exchange Policy Guidelines for Fiscal Years 2024-2025 outline plans to integrate eNaira into government payment systems.

This initiative will enable Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to process payments to vendors and beneficiaries directly from their eNaira wallets.

The CBN’s strategy includes the forthcoming release of eNaira version 2.0, which is expected to enhance the currency’s functionality.

Key improvements will feature collaboration with federal and state governments and the introduction of offline capabilities and programmable money. These upgrades aim to solidify the eNaira’s role in both digital and traditional financial sectors.

Despite these advancements, the eNaira’s adoption has been low. As of March 2024, it constitutes just 0.36% of the total currency in circulation, showing limited uptake despite the CBN’s efforts to promote its use.

The CBN has previously waived transaction fees for eNaira transactions and established a minimum capital requirement for service providers to stimulate adoption. However, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has critiqued the slow growth in eNaira wallet downloads, revealing the struggle in gaining user acceptance.

Alongside these developments, the CBN has reiterated its focus on maintaining the Ways and Means Advances to the federal government at a 5% threshold for the fiscal years 2024-2025.

This policy allows the CBN to provide short-term financing to cover budget deficits, capped at 5% of the previous year’s revenue. Advances must be repaid within the fiscal year to avoid long-term fiscal burdens.

The policy now includes provisions for calculating these advances by incorporating sub-accounts of MDAs linked to the Consolidated Revenue Fund, aligning with the Treasury Single Account (TSA) framework. This adjustment aims to provide a more accurate assessment of the federal government’s cash position.

Recent legislative actions have seen proposals to increase the Ways and Means threshold to 10%, a move that has raised concerns about potential inflationary impacts and economic stability.

Critics, including CBN Monetary Policy Committee member Murtala Sabo Sagagi, argue that such an increase could lead to excessive liquidity and exacerbate inflationary pressures.

In response to previous misuse and controversy surrounding the Ways and Means facility, the CBN has taken steps to address these issues. This includes restructuring outstanding loans and halting further advances until previous amounts are repaid.

Finance Minister Wale Edun has confirmed that the federal government has repaid N7.3 trillion in advances, a significant step in managing the country’s fiscal challenges.

This was revealed at the closing ceremony of a capacity-building programme organised by NITDA for 100 participants from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Military and Paramilitary agencies who were trained on Digital Literacy and Skills, Cybersecurity Essentials and Cloud Computing.

Giving his closing remark at the event, Kashifu Inuwa, the NITDA Director General of NITDA, expressed his pleasure at the participants for their active participation and contribution to class activities throughout the programme while urging them to be good ambassadors of the knowledge gained in their various organisations.

The DG who was represented at by Dr. Usman Abdullahi, the Agency’s Director Information Technology Infrastructure Solutions, stated that the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari through the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy has developed initiatives to ensure that the digital transformation of the country is achieved.

Echoing the agency’s ambitious target of attaining 95% digital literacy by the 2030, the DG said that digital literacy and skill is a key pillar of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDPES) strategic document which was launched by Mr. President in 2019.

He said, “In order for Nigeria to attain 95% digital literacy by 2030, we need your collective effort in ensuring that the NDEPS serves as a guidance and guideline in all our processes at our various workplaces.”

Speaking on the NITDA’s effort on the implementation of NDEPS, Inuwa stated that the agency developed its Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP) 2021-2024 document in which, Digital Literacy & Skill, Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies are part of the seven pillars which it is anchored on.

“Among the pillars are the Digital Literacy & Skill, Cybersecurity and you have been trained in Cybersecurity Essentials. Another pillar is emerging technologies and you have been trained in cloud computing. There are 7 pillars in total and each pillar is key to our journey towards the realisation of the digital economy,” he noted.

While laying emphasis on the Agency’s commitment to implementing and complimenting the efforts of the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy through the development of SRAP, Inuwa averred that the agency is focused on building the skills and capacity of people which is highly essential in digitally transforming the nation.

He added that NITDA has set up Digital Transformation Technical Working Groups (DTTWG) in 200 MDAs in the country with the aim of driving digital transformation agenda as well as adding value to their processes for the benefit of all Nigerians.

“The importance of this programme cannot be overemphasized and now that you have been taught, the expectation is that you go back to your various organisations and implement all you have been taught,” he concluded.

On her part, Dr. Amina Sambo-Magaji, the Acting Director, Digital Literacy and Capacity Development department, appreciated Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) for starting the journey and extended her gratitude to the DG NITDA for creating the enabling environment in making the programme a success.

She congratulated all the participants and admonished them to be ambassadors of the programme by implementing all they have learnt and propagating the programme to their colleagues so that the entire citizenry can harness the benefits of digital technology.