The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has agreed in principle to mint The Gambia’s currency the Dalasi.
This deal should drastically reduce the amount Gambia spends on minting money abroad.
The Gambia’s dalasi was adopted in 1971 and its current US dollar conversion rate is USD1 for GMD51.15.
The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Ememfiele, agreed to the proposal of the minting of The Gambia’s currency from the Governor of the Central Bank of Gambia, Mr. Buah Saidy, who led a delegation to visit him on Tuesday the 15th of June.
Mr. Emefiele said Nigeria has a lot of capacity in currency printing as has been minting since the 1960’s and “We are willing to assist in printing your currency. We can be extremely competitive in terms of cost,” he said.
The Gambian Central Bank Governor had said earlier that the country was running very low on currency and wanted to learn how best to manage its currency. It was going to need annually leveraging Nigeria’s wealth of knowledge and experience.
Proceeds from the meeting suggest that the discussions came out fruitful. However, the two countries are yet to sign the much-expected formal agreement for the commencement of the minting process.
The Gambia had a history of minting their currency abroad but they are considering also minting from Nigerian if Nigeria is willing.
On its part, the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc said it is ready if both parties come to a deal.
Source: Voice Gambia, Eye-Gambia