The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has assured Nigerians that they will not lose their money should they fail to bank them before the February 10 deadline.
Emefiele said that banks will continue to accept old naira notes after the deadline.
The CBN governor disclosed this on Tuesday when he appeared before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee on the currency redesign and naira swap policy.
He also assured the commercial banks that the apex bank would accept the old naira from them after the February 10 deadline.
Emefiele backed up the assurance with the CBN act which mandates the apex bank to continue to accept old notes after its expiration.
Section 20 (3) of the CBN act states: “Notwithstanding sub-sections (1) and (2) of this section, the bank shall have power, if directed to do so by the president and after giving reasonable notice in that behalf, to call in any of its notes or coins on payment of the face value thereof and any note or coin with respect to which a notice has been given under this sub-section, shall, on the expiration of the notice, cease to be legal tender, but, subject to section 22 of this act, shall be redeemed by the bank upon demand”.
He explained that “We (CBN) are mandated to collect these money (old notes) and I stand with the House of Representatives on this.
“What does that mean? It could (old notes) have lost its legal tender status which means we have moved on. But if you have your money that you have not been able to send to the bank, we will certainly give you the opportunity to bring them back into the CBN to redeem it. Either you pay it to your bank account or you want to do an exchange, we will give it to you. You will not lose your money. This is the assurance I give to Nigerians.”
