Old naira notes will still be in use after February 10 deadline, says Emefiele

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Mr Godwin Emefiele has allayed the fears that the old naira notes would no longer be tenable after the expiration of the February 10 deadline for the naira swap policy.

Speaking when he appeared before the Mr Ado Doguwa-led House of Representatives adhoc committee on the naira redesign and naira swap policy, he pledged to adhere to sections 20 sub 3, 4,5 of the CBN Act.

The CBN chief said Nigerians can be rest assured that they would be allowed to deposit their old naira notes with the apex bank even after the February 10 deadline as stipulated by the CBN Act.

Emefiele who was accompanied by top-ranking officials of the CBN pledged to ensure equitable and transparent distribution of the new naira notes to all banking outlets across the country.

Expressing satisfaction with the enthusiasm so far exhibited by Nigerians over the naira redesign and swap policy, he frowned at officials of some commercial banks that indulge in the unwholesome act of hoarding of the new naira notes.

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Referring to a trending video on social media where bundles of new naira notes were sprayed at a party, he assured the lawmakers that he met with heads of deposits banks on Sunday aimed at addressing the anomaly and ensuring the availability of the new naira notes in the automated teller machines across the country (ATM).

He assured the lawmakers that the CBN is already collaborating with the Economic and financial crimes commission (EFCC), the independent corrupt practices and other related crimes commission (ICPC), the Nigerian intelligence finance unit (NFIU) and other security agencies to ensure the smooth implementation of the naira swap policy.

He said the recent arrest by DSS operatives of a syndicate that indulge in the breach of the naira swap policy spoke volumes of the inroads being recorded by the CBN to curtail the ugly trend.

The CBN chief further referred to the 1.5 million super agents, and the deployment of 30,000 of the agents to partake in the swap of a maximum of 10,000 naira aimed at ensuring coverage of over 80 percent of Nigerians as some of the measures put in place to achieve the desired goal.

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