Old Naira Notes: CBN Shuns Pressure, Insists On Jan 31 Deadline

• Buhari assures on checking squeeze, chaos in currency swap
• ACF kicks as Gov Ganduje writes Buhari to postpone State visit

BY EDMOND ODOK- Despite coming under intense pressure from the National Assembly and some high-ranking politicians, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) insists there is no going back on the January 31 deadline for old naira notes.

This is as President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday assured that government will ensure citizens are not harmed in their businesses and no disruption is caused to the entire supply chain arising from the currency swap.

The CBN, which delivered its no going back on the January 31, 2023 deadline message in a tweet on Saturday evening, said the “Deadline for the return of old series of 200, 500 and 1000 naira notes remains January 31, 2023”.

The tweet also attached a video clip of the apex Bank governor, Godwin Emefiele, reiterating the stance on old notes at the last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the bank, saying; “Unfortunately, I don’t have good news for those who feel we should shift the deadline, my apologies.

“The reason is that just like the president has said on more than two occasions and even to some people privately, 100 days is more than enough for anybody who has the old currency to deposit it in the banks. And we took every measure to ensure that all the banks were and are still open to accepting deposits.”

Meanwhile, the President also assured Nigerians on Saturday that the currency redesign was only targeting people hoarding illicit funds and not the common man, and that it had become necessary to prevent counterfeits, corruption, and terrorist funding.

President Buhari, who was reacting to reports of people waiting in long queues for hours to deposit old notes and get new ones, also maintained that the action will stabilize and strengthen the economy.

However, admitting that the poorest segment of society may be facing hardship given that they often keep hard cash at home for various expenses, the President said the government will not leave them to their own fate.

According to him, the CBN and all commercial banks have already put in place a number of initiatives meant to speed up the new notes’ distribution and to forestall cash squeeze and chaos in the financial system.

But earlier on Saturday, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) added its voice to those demanding deadline extension for the expiration and collection of old Naira notes.

The Kano State Chapter of the Forum said in a statement issued by its Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bello Galadanci, that the January 31 deadline set by the Federal Government had almost grounded socio-economic activities in the state.

The statement noted that people’s refusal to accept the old Naira notes in commercial transactions out of fear of possible inability to deposit the notes in commercial banks is causing untold hardship to the masses.

A similar plea also came from Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, who has written to the President requesting the postponement of his official visit to the state, citing pent-up anger among the people over the CBN’s policy on redesigned Naira notes and security reasons.

A statement by the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Abba Anwar, said this was the outcome of an interactive session held with scholars, legislators, political leaders, and the business community at Government House, Kano on Friday, adding that the decision was taken to avoid any unforeseen circumstance.

The statement said; “As we are waiting for this important visit, we found ourselves in this situation, which puts citizens into untold hardship. For security purposes, we wrote to the Presidency that President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to Kano be postponed. We got an acknowledgment copy of the letter. People are really suffering because of this policy”.

During the engagement meeting, the decision to shelve the President’s visit was unanimously adopted by the Stakeholders that included two serving Senators from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Kabiru Ibrahim Gaya and Barau Jibrin; 20 members of the House of Representatives; and 30 legislators from the State House of Assembly among other groups