…says old notes not legal tender after deadline but’ll still be accepted by CBN only
…uncovers mismanagement of N4m by commercial bank in Ogun
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has assured that no one will lose money in the naira redesign project, explaining that the exercise is in the overall interest of Nigerians and the economy. Emefiele gave the assurance when he appeared before the House of Representatives Adhoc Committee on the review of the bank’s cashless policy and extension of the timeframe of the currency swap programme yesterday.
He added that subject to the provision of Section 20(3) of the CBN Act, Nigerians would be given the opportunity to redeem the face value of the naira in their possession after the currency would have lost its legal tender status on February 10, 2023, deadline only at the CBN. “Section 20 says even after the old currency has lost its legal tender status that we are mandated to collect that money.
And I stand with the House of Reps on this. “If you have your money that you have not been able to send to the bank, we will certainly give you the opportunity to bring them back into the CBN to redeem it. Either you pay it to your bank account or you want to do an exchange – we give you. You will not lose your money. This is the assurance I give to Nigerians,” he stated. According to him, the currency redesign policy had so far recorded about a 75 per cent success rate given the fact that many of those in the rural and underserved locations across the 36 states of the country have had the opportunity of swapping their old banknotes for the new series of the banknotes.
Emefiele, who was accompanied to the meeting by all the four deputy governors of the CBN, disclosed that the apex bank had deployed about 30,000 super agents to work with the bank’s staff currently in the hinterland to ensure that the underserved and vulnerable members of the society are adequately catered for.
Emefiele disclosed that the benefits of the e-economy had started to manifest as inflation was no longer rising and there was no stagnation in the economy. He stressed that kidnapping for ransom and other criminal activities had reduced as beneficiaries of the criminal acts were finding it difficult to collect or move their illicit monies from their victims or victims’ families.
The CBN helmsman acknowledged that some Nigerians may have been negatively affected by the bottlenecks occasioned by the policy but things would get better with time and appealed to Nigerians to be patient. The CBN Governor accused commercial banks of breaching the agreement for issuance of new currency notes saying he was disappointed with the usage of the new naira notes in parties. According to him, most of the currencies were in packs and in the hands of a few Nigerians instead of the directive of dispensing through Automated Teller Machines (ATM). Emefiele maintained that the new policy was for the good of Nigerians and the nation’s economy stating that monetary policies are hallmark of a good apex bank. Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the Special Adhoc committee and leader of the House, Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa, expressed the support of the House of Representatives for the cashless policy of the Bank, stressing that the House would assist the CBN in achieving its mandate in that regard.
