Less than two weeks to the deadline given by the apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, for the new naira notes to be fully in circulation, most commercial banks and the Automated Teller Machine, ATM’s are still dispensing the old naira notes.
This is worrisome, given that the CBN has insisted that it was not reneging on its January 31 expiration date for the old naira notes. All the facts on ground indicate that the old naira notes may still be very much in circulation even after the deadline given by the apex bank when it is supposed to cease being a legal tender.
A lot of reasons have been adduced to this situation; many have accused the politicians and their cronies of using the banks staff to sabotage the efforts of the CBN in order to ensure that the new notes do not get widely circulated and thereby stall the process , so they can gain more time to launder their money.
Hence, with just a few days to go, the banks through their ATMs are still dispensing the old notes, thereby making it difficult for people to exchange their old notes for the new ones.
Since October 2022, when the CBN announced that the new notes were out, many Nigerians have not even seen them let alone feel them in their hands, thus making room for wide speculation that that the newly designed notes were insufficient, hence the scarcity.
Some Nigerians have accused the bank staff of frustrating the CBN’s naira policy by selling these new notes, and ensuring that majority of the people do not get these new notes.
Following the persistent scarcity of the new notes and mounting complaints,, many are calling for an extension of the deadline to give time for the new notes to be fully and widely circulated in the interest of the nation’s economy.
Consequently, the Senate had asked the apex bank to move the deadline to the end of June, following its seeming inability to ensure full compliance of its policy as well as citing the hardship the hasty enforcement would have on Nigerians.
In October, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, announced the plan to redesign the N200, N500 and N1,000 notes. He said the new notes will go into circulation in December while the old notes are expected to be out of circulation by January 31.
According to Emefiele, the planned policy is aimed at curbing inflation, checkmating counterfeiting and reducing the volume of money outside the banking system earlier estimated at N2.7 trillion, among others. While many assumed that, part of the idea behind the new naira policy, was to enable the apex bank to mop up illegal monies outside the banking system and checkmate money bag politicians ahead of the coming general elections.
Amidst all the hoopla, the CBN governor, Enefiele has said the January 31st date remains sacrosanct.
The Senate has tried to prevail on the apex bank to extend the deadline given that the time given was too short for every person to exchange all their old notes for the new ones.
Emefiele holds a virtual meeting Thursday with some state governors on the issue. It remains to be seen how the whole matter pan out, and if the CBN governor will budge.