"December Deadline": CBN Says Old Naira Will be Phased Out Gradually as It Raises Cost of Borrowing
- According to the Central Bank of Nigeria, the old naira notes would be phased out gradually
- The Acting CBN governor Folashodun Shonubi said the new N200, N500, and N1000 notes are being issued more, and old notes are slowly withdrawn
- He said the new notes are given to banks when they request for them while the old one are not recirculated
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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that plans to phase out the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes are still on as new banknotes are still being issued.
During the Money Policy Committee Meeting in Abuja, the Acting CBN governor disclosed this on Tuesday, July 26, 2023.
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CBN still withdrawing old naira notes
The Acting CBN governor, Folashodun Shonubi, said the old naira notes are slowly being replaced.
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TheCable reports that per Shonubi, the old notes are exchanged for new ones whenever commercial banks request them.
He said:
“When a currency is printed and sent out. It is expected to go through several cycles. Then over time, it will become one and be replaced. That’s what we’re doing,” Shonubi said.
“We had to put out or re-put out old notes. And as they’re coming in, they’re being processed and returned to us as not issuable. We are then bringing out and replacing them with the new notes.
“We believe that we have an optimal level of the currency out there, and so much of what’s being done is a replacement to keep the level rather than just putting money out there.
“And that is seen by the fact that the banks, whenever they come to us for notes, we provide it to them. If it weren’t enough, they would be asking us for more. They’d be dumping that much more on us if it was too much.
“So, we will slowly, and over time you will see the old notes replaced out of the system with the new notes that’ll be the norm.
“This will be out of practice, not fanfare. You’ll see it slowly morph from old to new.”
Fiasco of naira redesign
On October 26, 2023, the suspended Governor of CBN, Godwin Emefiele, announced plans to redesign the N200, N500, and N1,000 notes.
Emefiele asked Nigerians to deposit their old naira notes before January 31, 2023, when they cease to be legal tender.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari later approved the deadline extension for demonetizing the old notes.
However, in March 2023, the Supreme Court voided the naira redesign policy introduced by the CBN, saying that the old naira notes would remain legal tender until December 2023.
Breaking: CBN Makes first policy decisions under President Tinubu, one months after Emefiele's removal
Legit.ng reported that the Central Bank of Nigeria has made its first monetary policy decision under the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
After a two-day meeting, Folashodun Shonubi, the acting governor announced on Tuesday, July 25, 2023 that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has decided to increase interest rate again to 18.75%.
This is a 25 basis points increase from the initial 18.5% agreed under the suspended CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele.
Source: Legit.ng
