Prominent Nigerians, such as traditional rulers, elder statesmen, businessmen, and academics, are persuading the Federal Government to pressure the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, to extend the January 31st deadline for swapping old notes with new ones.
Other stakeholders who are calling for an overview of the policy and an extension of the deadline include the 36 state governors, the Arewa Consultative Forum, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), and bank customers.
The Presidential Candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, among some other prominent Nigerians, is said to be uncomfortable with the timeline for the mopping up of old naira notes of N1,000, N500 and N200.
Commenting on the new Naira notes while campaigning in Abeokuta, Ogun State, last Wednesday, Tinubu lamented the scarcity of the new notes.
However, President Muhammadu Buhari, Saturday, ruled out the extension of the January 31 deadline for the old N1,000, N500 and N200 to cease being legal tender. His position was supported by the CBN, which insisted that the deadline would not be extended.
The President explained that the currency redesign was not meant to target innocent citizens but corrupt people and terror financiers hoarding illicit funds.
He also assured Nigerians that the government would ensure that they and their businesses would not be harmed by disruptions to the entire supply chain arising from the currency redesign.
A statement on Saturday by the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said Buhari was reacting to reports of long queues of people waiting for hours to deposit old notes and get new ones.
The statement was titled, ‘Government will eliminate squeeze, chaos in currency swap, President Buhari assures’.
Buhari restated that the currency change aimed at people hoarding illicit funds, not the common man.
He said the changes had become necessary to prevent counterfeits, corruption, and terrorist funding and to stabilise and strengthen the economy.
The statement read in part, “While taking note that the poorest section of society is facing hardship as they often keep hard cash at home for various expenses, President Buhari gave strong assurances that the government would not leave them to their own fate.
“He reiterated that a number of initiatives by the central bank and all commercial banks are underway to speed up distribution of the new notes and do all that is necessary to forestall cash squeeze and chaos.”
The President’s explanation may have reacted to the position of the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, who alleged last Wednesday that the currency change and the lingering fuel scarcity were parts of plans to sabotage the February election and prevent his imminent victory.
Similarly, on Saturday, the CBN insisted that the January 31 deadline for the validity of the old naira notes remained unchanged.
Refusing to yield to pressure to extend the deadline, the apex bank, via its verified Twitter handle, insisted that the deadline was sacrosanct.
Reposting a video of the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, from the just-concluded Monetary Policy Committee meeting, the apex bank said, “Deadline for the return of old series of 200, 500 and 1000 naira notes remains January 31, 2023.”
Emefiele had said after the MPC meeting, “Unfortunately, I don’t have good news for those who feel we should shift the deadline; my apologies.
“The reason is that just like the President has said on more than two occasions and even to some people privately, 100 days is more than enough for anybody with the old currency to deposit in the banks. And we took every measure to ensure that all the banks were and are still open to accepting deposits.”
