The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has announced the extension of the ongoing swapping of the old currency to new banknotes by 10 days.
Emefiele told journalists after a closed door meeting with the President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday in Daura, the hometown of President Buhari, that the new deadline was now February 10, 2023.
He disclosed that President Buhari has given approval for the extension of the deadline and urged Nigerians, who were yet to change their old Naira notes to new banknotes to do so now.
He, however, cautioned that the deadline would not be extended again.
The deadline for the exchange of the redesigned N200, N500 and N1000 banknotes was January 31, 2023, but as at January 29, 2023, the new banknotes were in short supply and the commercial banks were still issuing and disbursing the old banknotes despite the directives from the central bank, while some commercial houses and traders had started rejecting the old banknotes.
GIK/APA