Old Naira Notes: CBN insists on Jan 31 deadline, shuns calls for extension

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Old Naira Notes: CBN insists on Jan 31 deadline, shuns calls for extension

Agents from the Central Bank attending to residents of Kaltungo, during the CBN currency swap in Kaltungo Local Council of Gombe…

With only just five working days left to phasing out old N1,000, N500 and N200 notes, anxious citizens are at their wits’ end over who blinks first, as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) remains defiant, insisting there is no going back on the January 31 deadline despite a motion by the two chambers of the National Assembly, asking the apex bank to extend the deadline for acceptance of the old naira notes.

The lawmakers’ resolution is coming after the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Bank Customers Association of Nigeria (BCAN) and a host of other stakeholders have expressed concerns and made appeals for CBN to extend the period for the currency swap as well as review of the cashless policy.

The House of Representatives and the Senate in separate resolutions, yesterday, asked CBN to extend the deadline by six months till July 31.

The decision of the House to ask for the extension followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by Sada Soli (APC, Katsina) during plenary. Moving the motion, Soli said banking and other financial institutions are struggling to cope with the rush by citizens to change their old currencies to new notes, just as the shortage of new notes is creating panic.

He informed his colleagues that traders in Katsina State have started rejecting the old notes.

Speaking in support of the motion, Ahmed Jaha (APC, Borno), said CBN has been making efforts in his state to swap the old notes for new ones, however, the efforts are not enough to meet the deadline, just as activities of Boko Haram insurgents have shut down banking operations in most parts of Borno.

In his intervention, Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, said the House needs to interface with the heads of commercial banks to understand the real situation.

Consequently, the House resolved to set up an ad-hoc committee chaired by the majority leader, Alhassan Doguwa (APC, Kano), to interface with the banks today and subsequently meet with CBN.

At the upper chamber, the Senate called for the extension of the deadline following the adoption of a motion moved by Sodiq Umar (APC, Kwara), who argued that the policy ine following the adoption of a motion moved by Sodiq Umar (APC, Kwara), who argued that the policy is affecting the people negatively.

Speaking in support of the motion, Abiodun Olujimi (PDP, Ekiti), stated that most Nigerians have not got the opportunity to touch the new notes, adding that the timeline for the implementation of the policy is too short.

Also, former Senate Leader, Ali Ndume (APC, Borno) lamented the absence of the newly redesigned notes in circulation, saying that as a serving member of the upper legislative chamber, he has not seen the new notes.

“I, as a senator, have not seen the new notes. I only saw the new note once in December when I moved the motion and I said I have not seen the money. That was when one of my colleagues showed me the N1,000 note. I have been withdrawing money from the bank since then, and have never got new notes from the bank.

“Even on Friday, I made withdrawal from the bank, and they gave me old notes. And then surprisingly, now I heard that in some places now, they are rejecting old notes. In other words, the CBN deadline has actually been implemented in remote places over fear of people losing their money. This panic is going to cause economic chaos.”

On the chaos already on the streets, Bayo Olorunpoda, a media executive, said yesterday: “I visited five banks today and none of the ATMs dispensed cash. The explanation was that banks didn’t want to load old naira notes in obedience to CBN instruction, yet they didn’t have enough new notes. Furthermore, most ATMs dispense N500 and N1,000 notes, either old or new. How will CBN ensure the circulation of the new N200 notes, which will be in high demand for cash transactions, when it doesn’t dispense from the ATM?”

WHILE the lawmakers were deliberating on the motion, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, announced that the bank would not go back on the decision. He made the announcement after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja.

Speaking on the new notes, Emefiele claimed that kidnapping and ransom-taking incidents have reduced since the three banknotes were redesigned. He also argued that the time given for the swap of the old naira notes with new ones was enough for Nigerians to get the new notes from commercial banks.