The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has insisted that there is no going back on the January 31 deadline when the old ₦200, ₦500, and ₦1000 naira notes, as they will cease to be legal tender in the country starting from that date.
CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, who reiterated the bank’s stance after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, said enough time had been given to Nigerians to swap their old naira notes for new ones.
Meanwhile, Managing Directors/Chief Executive Officers of banks, under the auspices of the Bankers’ Committee, have been scheduled to meet with an ad hoc committee of the House to be chaired by the Majority Leader, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, on Wednesday to continue discussion on the matter.
Reports say the meeting is for the banks to explain the alleged supply shortage from the Central Bank of Nigeria. It would be recalled that the CBN on October 26, 2022, announced its plan to redesign the three banknotes. President Muhammadu Buhari also unveiled the redesigned ₦200, ₦500, and ₦1000 notes on November 23, 2022.
NewsBits can authoritatively report that the shortage of the new naira notes is causing serious confusion across the nation just as most bank ATM machines are still dispensing the old notes, which the CBN is insisting will become illegal by January 31, which is six days from the date of this publication.
