Breaking! CBN Extends Old Naira Deadline till February 10

Gov Emefiele announced the new deadline in a statement issued on Sunday.

The CBN governor had initially vowed to stick to the 31 January deadline for the exchange of old naira notes of N200, N500 and N1000 to the new ones.

But the National Assembly and state governors demanded an extension of the deadlines.

On Wednesday, the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu escalated the demand in a major statement in Abeokuta.

He said the scarce new notes, along with petrol, was the handiwork of saboteurs.

On Saturday, President Buhari in a statement promised to ensure that the weak members of society do not suffer unduly as a result of CBN deadline for the swapping of currency.

New Naira Notes
New Naira Notes

He assured that government will ensure that citizens are unharmed in their businesses and no disruption is caused to the entire supply chain arising from the currency swap due to end shortly.

Reacting to reports of long queues of people waiting for hours for their turn to deposit old notes and get new ones, triggering public anger and opposition’s criticism, President Buhari reiterated that the currency changes were aimed at people hoarding illicit funds and not the common man, and that it had become necessary to prevent counterfeits, corruption, and terrorist funding. This, he assured, will stabilize and strengthen the economy.

While taking note that the poorest section of society is facing hardship as they often keep hard cash at home for various expenses, President Buhari gave strong assurances that the government will not leave them to their own fate.

He reiterated that a number of initiatives by the Central Bank and all commercial banks are underway to speed up distribution of the new notes and do all that is necessary to forestall cash squeeze and chaos.

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