The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has said that there was no need to shift the February 10th, 2023 deadline for the use of old notes.
Emefiele insisted there is no going back on the deadline earlier given for the old naira notes to be withdrawn from circulation.
He said this during a visit on Tuesday to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to discuss the monetary and currency redesign policy of the bank.
He said, “The situation is substantially calming down since the commencement of over-the-counter payments to complement ATM disbursements and the use of super-agents.
“There is, therefore, no need to consider any shift from the deadline of February 10.”
He also threatened that Point-of-Sale agents, who charge above N200 for cash swaps will be arrested and jailed if caught in such practices.
DAILY GIST reported that the Supreme Court had in a ruling suspended the CBN deadline for demonetisation policy and fixed February 15 for hearing on the matter.
A seven-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice John Okoro, had temporarily restrained the federal government from restricting the use of the old naira notes after February 10 pending the hearing of the suit.
The ex-parte application was filed by the governors of Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara states, citing the negative effects the policy is having on the residents.
The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami while reacting to the development stated that the federal government, out of its regard for the rule of law, would abide by the order of the apex court, even though it intended to challenge it and would do so within the provisions of the law.
He said: “The order was granted by the supreme court and the order is to lapse on Wednesday(February 15th) which is the day of the hearing. With that position in mind, we have taken steps to file an objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the matter,” he said.
According to Malami, the federal government has filed reasons before the Supreme Court as to why the suit by three states challenging the February 10 deadline fixed by the CBN for phasing out the old N1, 000, N500, and N200 banknotes should be struck out.
