Mr Emefiele making his presentation to the committee
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, while explaining the Naira redesigning crisis to federal lawmakers that the redesign is in the overall interest of Nigerians and the economy. He stated that no one will lose money in the process.
He said that subject to the provision of Section 20(3) of the CBN Act, Nigerians would be given the opportunity to redeem the face value of the naira in their possession after the currency would have lost its legal tender status on February 10, 2023, deadline only at the CBN.
According to Emefiele, the currency redesign policy had so far recorded about a 75 per cent success rate given the fact that many of those in the rural and underserved locations across the 36 states of the country have had the opportunity of swapping their old banknotes for the new series of the banknotes.
Emefiele, who was accompanied to the meeting by all the four deputy governors at the CBN, disclosed that the bank had deployed about 30,000 super agents to work with the bank’s staff currently in the hinterland to ensure that the underserved and vulnerable members of the society are adequately catered for. Emefiele also disclosed that the apex bank was working closely with relevant agencies of the Federal Government to ensure full compliance with the CBN guidelines issued to the deposit money bank for the seamless distribution of the new banknotes.
Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the ad-hoc committee, Ado Doguwa, expressed the support of the House of Representatives for the cashless policy of the bank, stressing that the House would assist the CBN in achieving its mandate in that regard. Doguwa welcomed the submission of the CBN Governor and stressed the need for more collaboration.
