CBN forecloses extension of January 31 deadline for return of old naira notes
The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, on Tuesday declared that the January 31, 2023 deadline fixed by the apex bank for the return of old N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes will not be extended.
He urged those who might still be holding on to the old banknotes to turn them in, assuring them they would not be harassed by the anti-graft agencies.
Emefiele comment came just as the Senate and House of Representatives members urged the banking sector regulator to extend the deadline.
Both chambers of the National Assembly had requested a six-month extension of the deadline. In addition, the House of Representatives set up an ad hoc committee to meet the Managing Directors of banks and subsequently with the CBN over the public outcry on the cash withdrawal limit and scarcity of the redesigned naira. They also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in the matter.
Addressing journalists at the end of a two-day meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in Abuja, the first in the year, the CBN governor insisted that the 100 days allowed for anyone to deposit the notes in commercial banks was more than adequate.
He also disclosed that to date, between N1.3 trillion and N1.5 trillion of the old naira notes had so far been returned, adding that the figure was expected to reach about N2 trillion at the end of the week.
He added that the central bank is currently printing more banknotes which would be supplied to banks to boost availability as the old notes would expire at the end of the month.
This pronouncement has nailed the speculations that the central bank may bow to public pressure and move forward, the deadline it set for the return of the old naira notes, after which they would no longer remain legal tender.
