NASS urges CBN to extend deadline for old notes by six months

The Nigerian federal legislature has charged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to extend the deadline for the expiration of old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes by six months.

This followed a motion by a member of the House, Sada Soli, saying the policy must not affect citizens negatively for it to be successful.

The lawmaker raised concerns over purported rejection of old currencies by businesses amid alleged shortage of the new notes at different financial institutions.

The House commended the policy of the apex bank but said its implementation was too abrupt and would be unfair to the incoming government.

The House described the implementation of the policy as abrupt, adding it would be unfair for the incoming administration.

An ad-hoc committee was set up to meet with the managing directors of commercial banks and the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, over complaints of shortage of the new notes.

Read also:CSOs storm NASS, calls for arrest of lawmaker, Kazaure for alleged blackmail of CBN Gov, Emefiele

The position of the House was in tandem with that of the Senate, seeking the extension of the deadline to June 30, 2023.

A lawmaker representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, had in December appealed to the apex financial institution for extension, adding that the notice given for the withdrawal of old notes was short.

In a plenary on Tuesday, the Senate again said the policy should be extended given the shortage of new naira notes at banks.

The lawmakers lamented the hardship the policy was causing Nigerians amid reports of long queues at banks across the country.

However, the CBN Governor at the end of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja had earlier maintained that the apex bank’s January 31, 2023 deadline for the validity of the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes, stands.

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