Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), insisted on Saturday that the January 31st, 2023 deadline for exchanging old Naira notes for new notes remains in place.
The apex bank stated on its Twitter account that the deadline for collecting old naira notes worth N1,000, N500, and N200 will not be extended.
According to reports, some powerful Nigerians have put pressure on the Federal Government to compel the CBN to extend the January 31st deadline for Nigerians to exchange their old notes.
According to a source who spoke with The Nation, Emirs, religious leaders, and others have approached the federal government about the issue.
The source said;
Powerful and influential Nigerians have mounted pressure on the government to compel the CBN to extend the January 31 deadline for the old naira notes to cease to be a legal tender.
Among those who have made their positions known to the government and called for an extension of the deadline are top Emirs, royal fathers, spiritual leaders and elder statesmen.
Their concern is the serious consequences the CBN stance will have on the economy and the attendant loss of goodwill by the government.
Some of them were worried that there was anxiety over the scarcity of the new notes which may lead to protests and strikes against the government.
They said as of Friday, many banks were still dispensing the old notes. To complicate matters, many traders and departmental stores were rejecting the old notes.