The Senate has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to postpone the deadline for the phase-out of the old N1,000, N500, and N200 notes until June 30th, 2023.
The advice comes in response to a motion made by Senator Ali Ndume of Borno South to raise awareness of the deadline on January 31.
According to Senator Ndume, the notice given by the CBN is too short, considering the “few” banks in Borno and Yobe states and the “inability” of people in these states to deposit the old notes in time to meet the deadline.
On October 26, 2022, CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele announced the redesign of the three bank notes and stated that the new and old currencies would continue to be accepted as legal currency and circulate side by side until January 31, 2023.
The central bank is confident that the revised notes will reduce the amount of cash in circulation, which will stop politicians from rigging next elections and ransom-demanding kidnappers from engaging in their despicable activities.
The CBN’s planned redesign of the naira note was unveiled by President Muhammadu Buhari in November, marking the first time in 19 years since Nigeria’s last currency overhaul.
The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele maintained that there would be heavy restriction on the volume of cash that people can withdraw over the counter, as it works with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to monitor the purpose of any heavy transactions.
The redesigned currency note he asserts can never be counterfeited, adding that to forestall such occurrence, the CBN will redesign the notes after every five to eight years.
