The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has clarified it’s position on the legal status of the old series of the N1,000, N500, N200 banknotes after the February 10 deadline for depositing the affected banknotes.
The Director, Corporate Communication Department of the CBN, Mr Osita Nwanisobi, while speaking with newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja, explained that the old notes will cease to be legal tender after February 10, 2023, and would no longer be used for any form of transactions afterwards.
Only CBN Will Accept Old Notes After Deadline
Nwanisobi said after the deadline, Nigerians will be able to redeem the face value of the Naira only at the CBN and not at commercial banks, in line with the provision of section 20(3) of the CBN Act. He also added that the acceptance will be subject to meeting certain conditions.
Re-emphasizing the pledge of the CBN Governor, Mr.Godwin Emefiele, at the meeting with the House of Representatives Ad-hoc committee on Tuesday, Nwanisobi said Nigerians would not lose their money, even as he urged citizens to take advantage of the extended deadline to deposit the old banknotes.
The duration for the acceptance of the old notes after the expiration of the deadline was, however, not stated.
While citing instances from other climes, Nwanisobi explained that banknotes that cease to be legal tender are only redeemable by the monetary authorities of such jurisdictions upon demand subject to conditions/processes as may be prescribed by that Central Bank.
He further encourage Nigerians to adopt other payment channels for transactions, stressing that Nigeria’s payment system is robust enough and ranks amongst the first in the world.
Earlier on Tuesday, Emefiele appeared before the House of Representatives Adhoc Committee on naira swap months after the invitation by lower chamber and days after the Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila threatened to issue an arrest warrant on the apex bank chief.
The CBN chief told the committee that the old notes would be accepted after the February 10 deadline.
(Arise News/Pacesetter/Channels)