Banks Will Keep Accepting Old Naira Notes After Deadline – Godwin Emefiele

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, says Nigerians can still deposit old naira notes at banks after the February 10 deadline elapses.

Speaking when he appeared at an interactive session with the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on the currency redesign and naira swap policy on Tuesday in Abuja, Emefiele said banks will continue to accept old naira notes after the deadline.

Emefiele added that the apex bank will also continue to collect the old naira notes from commercial banks after the stipulated deadline.

Emefiele made reference to the CBN Act which mandates the apex bank to continue to accept old notes after the expiration of the deadline.

Speaking about the redesign of the naira, he said the CBN’s actions were in line with international best practices and the apex bank has to be in control of the currency in circulation.

Emefiele said in 2015 N1.4 trillion was in circulation, and by last year it had risen to N3.33 trillion.

He explained that the reason for directing banks to ensure only ATM withdrawals was to limit the daily withdrawal of individuals.

The CBN boss decried the trend of the new notes being sighted at parties and stated he was in meetings with commercial banks to mitigate these.

Emefiele admitted that the policies would affect some persons negatively but claimed it was in the interest of the country especially in combating insecurity and corruption.