LATEST: CBN Insists On January 31 Deadline For Old Naira Notes

LATEST: CBN Insists On January 31 Deadline For Old Naira Notes

by Victor Ndubuisi
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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says the previous N200, N500, and N1,000 notes will remain valid until January 31, 2023.

Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, made the announcement following the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently increased the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), which measures interest rates, to 17.5 percent.

Kidnapping and ransom-taking, he claims, have decreased since the makeover of the three currencies.

Advantages Of New Naira Notes Are Tremendous – CBN

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He also stated that the period allotted for the exchange of old naira notes for new ones was sufficient for Nigerians to go to commercial banks and obtain fresh notes.

The CBN governor said, “I must say here that unfortunately, I don’t have good news for those who feel that we should shift the deadline. My apologies. The reason is because just like the President has said more than two occasions and even to people privately, that for us, 90 days, in fact, we feel it is 100 days, that it is enough for anyone who has money or the old currency to deposit it in the bank. And we took every measure to ensure all the banks remain open to receive all old currencies.

“100 days we believe is more than adequate. We called on the banks, not only are we requesting you to extend your banking hours so that you can receive old currencies, but we are also asking you to keep your doors open on Saturdays, ladies and gentlemen, the banks did not even have any reasons to even keep their banking halls open on Saturdays neither did they see the kind of rush that they anticipated.

Banks Hoarding New Naira Notes Will Be Punished – CBN Reveals

“We do not see any reason to begin to talk about a shift because people could not deposit their old monies into their banks.

“There is adequate quality of new notes available but let all know that it is a process of increasing, not producing. Our Mint is producing and we are supplying to the banks and so it will continue to circulate in the system.”

Emefiele also stated that he recently visited with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Governors Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe) and Mai Mala Buni (Yobe) and told them that the January 31 deadline is irreversible.

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He stated the CBN has 1.4 million super agents nationwide to collect old naira notes in exchange for new notes in riverine and highland areas, claiming “money is going down and is circulating to the lower rung of the population”.

UPDATE: Commercial Banks Dispense New Naira Notes

“We have 1.4 million points of our super agents; those agents are going to be available to conduct cash exchanges. The super agents are like kiosks, shops in your community, whether it is a riverine or upland area, they are there, selling sweets, selling kola nuts but they have been appointed as agents that will do cash exchange and cash swap for you. This, we have put in place,” he said.

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On October 26, 2022, the CBN revealed its intention to redesign the three banknotes. President Muhammadu Buhari then introduced the revised N200, N500, and N1,000 notes on November 23, 2022, with the top bank setting a January 31 deadline for the existing notes to be valid.

Many Nigerians have expressed alarm about the delayed rollout of the three new naira notes as the January 31st, 2023 deadline approaches, but the top bank has persisted on the date.

To increase circulation, the CBN recently urged commercial banks to cease over-the-counter payment of the new notes and load their Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) with the redesigned naira notes.

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Redesigning Of Naira Notes Won’t Stop Kidnapping – Sheikh Gumi

The central bank also started a nationwide cash swap program to allow residents in unbanked areas to exchange old notes for new ones before the deadline.

The House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, on the other hand, have asked the CBN to extend the deadline so that more Nigerians can receive the new notes.

 

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