The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has stated that the apex bank will not extend the deadline for the use of old Naira notes.
Emefiele said this at the monthly meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) held in Abuja on Tuesday.
“I don’t have good news for those who think we should change the deadline; I’m sorry,” Emefiele said.
He stated that the 90-day period given to exchange old naira money for the new currency is enough time for Nigerians to visit various commercial banks.
Emefiele added that he did not understand why the date had to be extended, explaining that every step was taken by the apex bank to ensure that the public could deposit their old currency before the deadline.
He noted that the CBN met with commercial banks to extend banking hours and working days to Saturday for Nigerians to meet the deadline.
The CBN in October 2022 announced that it will redesign the N200, N500, N1,000 notes, and keep Tuesday, January 31 as the deadline for the circulation of the old notes.
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The CBN has since ordered all commercial banks to stop over-the-counter payments of new notes and open Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) with redesigned naira notes to increase circulation.
The Senate and many Nigerians have asked for an extension of the deadline, citing slow circulation of the new naira notes.