The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele .says no further extension in the deadline for depositing old series of N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes.
Emefiele stated this while briefing the media at the CBN office in Lagos on Friday.
This comes as Nigerians lament about scarcity of the new notes and long queues at the ATMs. There have been protests, fights reported inside the banking halls and ATMs as people are frustrated by the cash crunch which is hampering economic activities in the country.
President Muhammadu Buhari had on Friday asked Nigerians to give him seven days to resolve the cash crisis caused by the policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to redesign the naira notes.
“I will revert to the CBN and the Minting Company. There will be a decision one way or the other in the remaining seven days of the 10-day extension,” the president said.
The President said when he considered giving the approval to the policy, he had demanded an undertaking from the CBN that no new notes will be printed in a foreign country and they in turn gave him assurances that there was enough capacity, manpower, and equipment to print the currency for local needs.
Emefiele on Friday said that the advantages of the currency redesign are overwhelmingly enormous and will benefit the economy in the long run.
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“We call on all Nigerians to be calm, law-abiding, and considerate of their fellow citizens (particularly the vulnerable and weak) in the conduct of their affairs as we execute this policy of national significance,” he said.
He warned that those who abuse or sell the Naira, in contravention of the CBN Act, will be prosecuted henceforth.
Emefiele noted “the Naira redesign project is not targeted at anyone but for the sake of Nigerians and the Nigerian economy.”
He assured that there is an adequate amount of currency (redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 denominations and current N100, N50, N20, N10 and N5 denominations) available to support economic activities.
“We will take all the necessary steps to ensure that there will be a smooth flow of cash swaps and minimize the inconvenience in the short term,” Emefiele said.
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.
