Ahead of the official launch of the e-Naira on Monday, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) held a crucial meeting on Saturday, top officials told reporters.

The Gazette learnt that those present at the meeting were the CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele and executives from the apex bank’s monetary policy, operations compliance, corporate communications and other departments.

Sources said the meeting was to put final touches on the e-Naira ahead of the launch on Monday, after criticisms that trailed the suspension of the initial launch on October 1.

Nigerians had expressed optimism the digital currency would be launched on October 1, before CBN announced its suspension hours before Independence Day celebration.

Spokesperson for the CBN, Osita Nwanisobi, had at the time said the suspension of the digital currency launch was to allow other events slated for the day to take place.

The CBN had earlier listed benefits of the e-Naira to include cross-border trade facilitation, financial inclusion, monetary policy effectiveness, improved payment efficiency, revenue tax collection, remittance improvement, and targeted social interventions.