Old naira notes: No going back on January 31 deadline, CBN insists

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said there is no going back on the January 31 deadline for old naira notes.

The apex bank has been under pressure to shift the deadline over the scarcity of new naira notes.

Earlier on Saturday, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) joined those calling for an extension of the deadline for the expiration and collection of old naira notes.

In a statement issued by Mallam Bello Galadanci, Publicity Secretary, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Kano State Chapter, on Saturday, the group said the January 31 deadline set by the Federal Government had almost grounded socio-economic activities in the state.

The statement added that people’s refusal to accept the old naira notes in commercial transactions out of fear of possible inability to deposit the notes in commercial banks is causing untold hardship to the masses.
There have also been similar calls across the country.

But in a tweet on Saturday evening, CBN insisted that there was no going back on the deadline,

“Deadline for the return of old series of 200, 500 and 1000 naira notes remains January 31 2023,” it tweeted attaching a video of Godwin Emefiele, CBN governor, giving the stance of the bank on old notes at the last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the bank.

In the video, Emefiele said,“Unfortunately, I don’t have good news for those who feel we should shift the deadline, my apologies.

“The reason is because, just like the president has said more than two occasions and even to some people privately, 100 days is more than enough for anybody who has the old currency to deposit it in the banks. And we took every measure to ensure that all the banks were and are still open to accept deposits.”

Earlier, President Muhammadu Buhari had said CBN was coordinating the distribution of the new notes to avoid chaos.