[ODUNEWS] January 24 – The Senate on Tuesday requested the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to postpone the end-of-January deadline for phasing out obsolete Naira notes until July 31, 2023.
On December 15, the apex bank began issuing freshly redesigned N200, N500, and N1000 notes and set January 31, 2023, as the deadline for withdrawing old notes.
However, many Nigerians have expressed concern since the new notes are not yet available in banks, which have continued to distribute old ones.
The Red Chamber asked the CBN to extend the deadline until December 2022, but the top bank rejected the ruling.
This has generated panic in many regions of the country as the deadline approaches, with thousands of people, particularly in rural areas, swarming banks to exchange their old notes for new ones.
Senators stated there were not enough replacement notes in circulation during Tuesday’s plenary discussion on a motion by Sadiq Suleiman Umar (APC, Kwara), warning that if the deadline was not extended, there would be anarchy in many parts of the nation.
The MPs were particularly disappointed that the CBN insisted on the January 31 deadline despite widespread public outrage.
As a result, the Senate requested that the CBN extend the deadline by six months to give Nigerians, particularly those in rural regions, more time to exchange their old notes.
The Red Chamber also requested the CBN to require deposit money banks to establish a naira exchange window for people who do not have bank accounts.
Senate President Ahmad Lawan informed the National Assembly leadership that the resolution will be carried out by the CBN.
