CBN Governor forcloses another extension of Naira swap deadline

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele at a press briefing in Lagos Friday stated that there would be no further extension of the Naira swap.

He urged Nigerians to be calm, reassuring them that the CBN is working assiduously to address all the challenges related to the redesign of Naira notes and the unavailability of cash.

He added that undue charges by Mobile Money Operators (MMOs) and super agents would be stopped.

He further reiterated that the policy was not targeted at any politicians as stated by some political bigwigs.

He said: “We do see that there will be some transient or temporary pains. But we are appealing, we are begging, we are on our knees begging people to please show understanding they should be calm. In our meetings with the banks, we have told them to set up tents and chairs, and give people numbers, which I’m sure some people will say is old-fashioned.

“But at this time that we’re trying to get the currency to circulate there should be a queuing arrangement and please be patient. The assurance we give is that it would eventually go around. “Eventually, the limits would be raised and the limits would be removed and people would be able to conduct their exchanges and businesses in the way it has always been in the past.”

Also, on the clamour to move the deadline by one year, Emefiele said: “I would say no. I’m sure that people are going to say that only last Tuesday, I said no, but I want to say unfortunately again, this time, we will not be looking at an extension of the deadline. Because we at the central bank, the deposit money banks, and other very important stakeholders, we are looking at areas where there is pressure and we are doing everything possible to address those areas of pressure.”

On the allegation that the Naira redesign is solely directed at a presidential candidate, he refuted such claims and stated that the policy was in line with best practices of managing the macroeconomy.

He said since the commencement of the programme, N2.1 trillion had been collected, leaving about N900 billion balance.