Following Nigeria’s landmark admission as a “partner country” to the BRICS bloc in January 2025, a wave of misinformation began circulating on Telegram and Facebook claiming that the Federal Government had signed an agreement to phase out the Naira in favor of a new BRICS digital currency by December 2025. These reports often included doctored images of currency notes featuring the flags of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa alongside the Nigerian Coat of Arms.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a categorical denial of these claims. In an official statement, the apex bank clarified that “partner status” in BRICS is a diplomatic and economic cooperation milestone aimed at increasing trade and investment, not a monetary union. The bank emphasized that the Naira remains the only legal tender in Nigeria and that no discussions regarding the surrender of monetary sovereignty have taken place.
Economists have pointed out that the BRICS bloc itself has not yet established a physical common currency, focusing instead on developing independent payment systems to facilitate trade in local currencies. The viral fake news appears to have been designed to trigger a speculative sell-off of the Naira. The government has urged citizens to be wary of “financial apocalypse” narratives shared by unverified sources, noting that Nigeria’s primary focus within BRICS is to enhance its export potential and reduce its total dependency on the US Dollar for international transactions.
