The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Saturday dispelled rumours that it planned to replace the Naira notes in circulation with digital currency, otherwise known as the eNaira, in due course.

CBN Director, Corporate Communications Department, Mr. Osita Nwanisobi, said the statement purportedly made at stakeholders’ engagement on eNaira adoption in Asaba, Delta was misconstrued and therefore called on the public to completely disregard it.

The CBN allegedly said that paper currency will soon be out of circulation, urging market men and women to sign into the e-Naira.

Mr Godwin Okafor said, “We are here at the market today to sensitise the market people on the use of e-Naira. It is fully backed by CBN, unlike Bitcoin which has no legal backing.”

The consultant of CBN on e-Naira, Dr. Aminu Bizi, said Delta was chosen as the second state to sensitise market women on e-Naira after Lagos.

“We are here to sensitise market men and women, shop to shop on the use of e-Naira. CBN has gone behind ATM, POS, therefore, we are going to meet the Okada/tricycle union on this policy.

“Paper currency will soon be out of circulation because CBN spent money to print money and people abuse the currency in the market, spraying at the occasion, payment of Okada/tricycle and others and CBN is losing”.

He said the use of e-Naira was effective, charges free unlike ATM and POS and cannot be hacked by fraudsters.

In his remark, the Secretary to the State Government, Chief Patrick Ukah, applauded CBN for the e-Naira initiative.

Ukah who was represented by the Director of Finance and Account in the office of SSG, Mr. Benson Ojoko, said the state was delighted with CBN programmes, describing e-Naira as a laudable programme that has placed Nigeria in international finance.