The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced its decision to extend the deadline for the usage of the old notes till February 10.
CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele made this announcement in a statement issued on Sunday.
He explained that the apex bank has sought approval from President Muhammadu Buhari to extend the deadline for the use of the old notes by 10 days.
The statement reads, “Based on the foregoing, we have sought and obtained Mr President’s approval for the following: A 10-day extension of the deadline from January 31 to February 10 to allow for the collection of more old notes legitimately held by Nigerians.
“A 7-day grace period, beginning from February 10 to February 17, in compliance with Sections 20(3) and 22 of the CBN Act allowing Nigerians to deposit their old notes at the CBN after the February deadline when the old currency would have lost its Legal Tender Status.”
This is coming after many Nigerians had lamented the naira note redesign policy of the CBN.
The New Diplomat reports that long queues have since greeted several banks across the country as Nigerians struggle to meet the initial January 31 deadline.
