The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has extended the deadline to stop using old fiat currencies.
Last year, the Central Bank, with the support of the federal government, decided to phase out the reverse side of some of its banknotes and replace them with new ones to address some of the currency complexities the country is facing.
The denominations for the redesign were the N100, N200, N500 and N1000 banknotes. By December, the bank had redesigned the notes and introduced a number of new policies and guidelines as a result.
A CBN policy has instructed Nigerians to replace all old banknotes in their holdings with new ones by January 31, 2023.
However, just a few days before the deadline and given the low circulation of the redesigned banknotes, the central bank decided to extend this deadline.
The new deadline is now set for February 10, giving Nigerians an extra week to replace old naira notes with new ones.
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CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele noted in a statement that the new deadline will give residents in rural communities more freedom to replace old banknotes.
“Based on the foregoing, we have sought and obtained Mr President’s approval for the following: A 10-day extension of the deadline from January 31 to February 10 to allow for the collection of more old notes legitimately held by Nigerians,” the statement reads in part.
After the Feb. 10 deadline, Nigerians have seven more days to deposit the old banknotes directly with the Central Bank of Nigeria, the statement said.
“A 7-day grace period, beginning from February 10 to February 17, in compliance with Sections 20(3) and 22 of the CBN Act allowing Nigerians to deposit their old notes at the CBN after the February deadline when the old currency would have lost its Legal Tender Status,” according to the statement.
