New naira notes: January 31 deadline sacrosanct — Emefiele

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, says the January 31 deadline to stop the circulation of old naira notes will not be extended.

Emefiele said this after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.

The CBN Governor stated that the 90-day ultimatum given to Nigerians to deposit their old currencies was enough.

“We called on the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to extend their working hours, and to work on weekends.

“There is no reason to talk about a shift. The new currencies are available,” he said.

Emefiele said the apex bank had mandated the DMBs to feed the new notes into their Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) for Nigerians to have equal access.

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“We have increased disbursement of the new notes to them. There is adequate quantity of new notes available.

“Our mint is producing and we are supplying the banks. We have super agents in underserved areas like riverine communities, and CBN staff members have been out on mobilisation.

“We believe that by January 31, the new naira notes would have permeated the nooks and crannies of the country,” the CBN boss added.

Emefiele said the CBN had so far received about N1.5 trillion of the old naira notes.

He urged Nigerians to accelerate the process of taking their old notes to the banks before the deadline, adding that they should not fear harassment from security operatives.

“We have begged the EFCC and the ICPC to allow Nigerians deposit their old naira notes,” the CBN Governor said.

The Star