The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has insisted that the deadline for the validity of the old N200, N500 and N1,000 remains next Tuesday, 31 January.
But just as the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele announced this at the CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on Tuesday, the National Assembly asked the regulatory bank to extend the deadline for the withdrawal of old naira notes from circulation.
Emefiele told the MPC that kidnapping and ransom-taking have reduced since the three banknotes were redesigned.
The resolution to have the withdrawal of the old notes from circulation was passed by the Senate and House of Representatives moments after the CBN Governor’s insistence on the deadline.
Last October, Emefiele announced the Naira redesign policy which entails the issuance of new notes to replace the existing N200, N500 and N1,000 series.
The CBN said — N100, N50, N20, N10, and N5 notes — would continue to be in circulation while the current N200, N500, and N1,000 naira notes would cease to be legal tender after 31 January 2023.
