The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has deployed 30,000 super agents nationwide to enhance its cash swap initiative in the hinterlands, rural areas and regions underserved by banks in the country, just as it announced President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval of the extension of the deadline for the return of old N200, N500 and N1,000 from January 31st, 2023, to February 10, 2023.The deployment of the 30,000 super agents was also to ensure that the weak and vulnerable persons are able to take their monies to the banks before the expiration of the deadline.
Also, the apex bank, in compliance with Sections 20 (3) and 22 of the CBN Act, further offered a seven-day grace period beginning from February 10 to February 17, allowing Nigerians to deposit their old naira notes at the CBN after the February deadline when the old currency would have lost its legal tender status.The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, disclosed this in a statement he personally signed yesterday.
Also speaking with journalists in the president’s country home, Daura, Katsina State, yesterday, Emefiele said the extension of the deadline was to enable more Nigerians successfully change their currencies to the redesigned banknotes, reduce the risk of loss, especially among the underserved in rural areas.However, while the Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives led by Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, applauded the CBN for listening to Nigerians and extending the deadline, the Chairman of the House Adhoc Committee on the Naira Re-design and Naira Swap Policy, Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa, rejected the extension, insisting that the CBN must comply with Sections 20, sub-section 3, 4, and 5 of the CBN Act.But a former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Alhaja Sinatu Ojikutu, has called on the president not to fall for the blackmail and pressure from the political class on his decision regarding the naira redesign, describing the policy as a political masterstroke that would expose saboteurs of the economy and those milking the nation.
Furthermore, in the statement, Emefiele said the extension of the deadline was a gesture to allow for the collection of more old notes which are legitimately held by Nigerians and achieve more success in cash swaps, particularly in rural communities – after which all old notes outside the CBN lose their legal tender status.Emefiele, in the statement released after meeting with the president to provide him with updates on the implementation of the currency redesign project, disclosed that since the commencement of the programme, the apex bank had collected about N1.9 trillion, indicating a 75 per cent success rate when compared with the N2.7 trillion that was outside the vaults of deposit money banks.