CBN, NASS Disagree On Deadline For Withdrawal Of Old Naira Notes

National Assembly (NASS) has called for the six months extension of the January 31, 2023 deadline for the withdrawal of old naira notes from circulation as stated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Both the Senate and House of Representatives separately passed the resolution during their Tuesday plenary on Tuesday.

In the senate, Sadiq Suleiman who moved the motion warned that the January 31 deadline would lead to chaos in several parts of the country.

Also in the House of Representatives, Sara Soli moving the motion said the deadline given by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was not feasible.

The House of Representatives resolved that an ADHOC committee headed by the house leader, Alhasan Ado-doguwa, invites the  managing directors of banks, to explain the reasons for the scarcity of the new naira notes.

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Later the committee would meet the CBN leadership on the issue.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has insisted that it will not extend its January 31 deadline for people to take their old naira note in exchange for the redesigned naira notes.

The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said the apex bank had given enough time to members of the public to exchange the old notes, which woule be invalid as from January 31

Godwin Emefiele speaking after the monday’s meeting of the bank’s monetary policy committee, said some people are illegally holding a large volume of the old naira notes in their various homes.

So far, Emefiele said the CBN had mopped up N1.5 trillion out of the old naira notes in circulation, and was targeting N2 trillion before the January 31.

He said that anti-graft agencies had been prevailed upon not to harass anyone deposition large volume of old naira notes in banks.