The Nigerian Senate has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to extend the deadline on old naira notes withdrawal from 31st January to 30th June 2023.
This was disclosed by the Nigerian Senate during Wednesday’s plenary session, in a motion by Senator Ali Ndume.
Senator Ali Ndume cited Orders 41 and 51 to seek the leave of the Senate to move a motion on the urgent need to extend the withdrawal of old currency from circulation. Senator Adamu Aliero seconded the motion. He said:
“The timing needs to be extended to allow every Nigerian to play his/her own role. I support the motion that this withdrawal date is extended to June 30th 2023.” – Senator Aliyu Wammako added.
The backstory: Recall that the newly redesigned N200, N500 and N1000 naira notes were launched on November 23rd, 2022, about one month after the CBN first announced the impending redesign.
The redesigned banknotes will, among other things, curtail excess cash outside of the banking system whilst combating inflation.
The deadline for phasing out the old N200, N500 and N1000 banknotes is January 31, 2023.
The CBN later reviewed its policy on cash withdrawal limits, increasing weekly withdrawals for individuals and corporate organisations to N500, 000 and N5 million, respectively.
The apex bank explained that the review became necessary following the feedback it received from stakeholders.
The CBN also noted that it is aware of the important role that cash plays in the Nigerian economy, particularly in rural Nigeria where virtually all transactions are cash-based.
The approval also raised the N20.51 trillion presented by President Muhammadu Buhari to N21.82 trillion.
