CBN Gives In To Pressure, Extends Deadline for Old Notes

The deadline for exchanging old Naira notes has ultimately been extended by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) by ten days.
In a statement released on Sunday, CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele claimed that President Muhammadu Buhari had given the bank authorization to carry out the extension.

Emefiele stated that, so far CBN has collected 1.9 trillion and left with 900 billion to achieve effective implementation of policy.

According to the apex bank chief, the extension, ‘a 7-day grace period’ was as a result of measures put in place to ease the scarcity.

The decision is coming after CBN had previously insisted that it would not extend the deadline.

He said: “Based on the foregoing, we have sought and obtained Mr President’s approval for the following: a 10-day extension of the deadline from January 31, 2023, to February 10, 2023; to allow for collection of more old notes legitimately held by Nigerians and achieve more success in cash swap in our rural communities after which all old notes outside the CBN loses their Legal Tender Status. Our CBN staff currently on mass mobilization and monitoring together with officials of the EFCC and ICPC will work together to achieve these objectives.

“A 7-day grace period, beginning on February 10 to February 17, 2023, in compliance with Sections 20(3) and 22 of the CBN Act, allowing Nigerians to deposit their old notes at the CBN after the February deadline when the old currency would have lost its Legal Tender status.”

The naira redesign is believed to be targeted at stopping vote buying in the 2023 general election scheduled for February 25 and March 11.