After weeks of mounting tension in the public following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) insistence that its January 31 deadline set for the full withdrawal of old N200, N500 and N1,000 from circulation remains sacrosanct, the apex bank on Sunday disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the extension of the deadline to 10 February 2023.
The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, who disclosed the extension, said that the President gave the approval when he visited him Daura, Katsina State, for the same purpose.
The CBN, in a tweet confirming the shift in the currency swap deadline, stated: “Deadline for the return of old series of 200, 500 and 1000 naira notes remains January 31 2023.”
Also, a video of Emefiele, while giving the position of the apex bank on the old notes at the last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the bank, was attached to the tweet.
In the video, he 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.”
According to him, so far the apex bank had collected N1.9 trillion of the old notes and was now left with N900 billion to achieve the objectives of the policy, advising Nigerians and others who are yet to deposit their old banknotes to take advantage of the extended deadline to do so.
CBN further stated: “Based on the foregoing, we have sought and obtained Mr President’s approval for the following: a 10-day extension of the deadline from January 31, 2023, to February 10, 2023; to allow for collection of more old notes legitimately held by Nigerians and achieve more success in cash swap in our rural communities after which all old notes outside the CBN loses their legal tender status.
“Our CBN staff currently on mass mobilization and monitoring together with officials of the EFCC and ICPC will work together to achieve these objectives.
“A 7-day grace period, beginning on February 10 to February 17, 2023, in compliance with Sections 20(3) and 22 of the CBN Act, allowing Nigerians to deposit their old notes at the CBN after the February deadline when the old currency would have lost its Legal Tender status”, it added.
