“Aside from those holding illicit, stolen Naira in their homes for speculative purposes, we do aim to give all Nigerians that have Naira legitimately earned and trapped the opportunity to deposit their legitimately trapped monies at the CBN for exchange.”
The CBN governor, who spoke to journalists Sunday morning, said he had the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari for the extension.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced a 10-day extension of the deadline for the use of old naira notes across Nigeria.
The CBN governor, who spoke to journalists Sunday morning, said he had the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari for the extension.
The new deadline is now 10 February instead of the former 31 January deadline, he said.
Mr Emefiele spoke in Daura, Katsina State, after a meeting with the president who is in his home state for official duties.
Mr Emefiele said Nigerians, who are yet to change their naira notes from the old to new ones, now have an opportunity to do so.
He said people must utilise the opportunity because the deadline will not be extended again.
The CBN last October introduced redesigned 200, 500 and 1000 naira notes and gave a deadline of 31st January for the use of the old notes.
However, the new notes have been scarce, thus leading to calls for an extension.
Mr Emefiele did not elaborate on what the central bank was doing to resolve the scarcity of the new notes.
Background
Last October, the apex bank announced its decision to redesign the notes, adding that members of the public were hoarding banknotes, with statistics showing that over 85 per cent of the currency in circulation is outside the vaults of commercial banks.
On Sunday, Mr Emefiele assured that the currency has yielded significant results.
“Available data at the bank showed that in 2015, currency-in-circulation was only N1.4 trillion. As of October 2022, currency in circulation had risen to N3.23 trillion; out of which only N500 billion was within the banking Industry and N2.7 trillion held permanently in people’s homes,” he said.
He said since the commencement of the programme, the CBN has collected about N1.9 trillion, “leaving us with about N900 billion (N500b + N1.9trillion).
“We are happy that so far, the exercise has achieved a success rate of over 75 per cent of the N2.7 trillion held outside the banking system.
According to him, Nigerians in the rural areas, villages, the aged and the vulnerable have had the opportunity to swap their old notes, leveraging the Agent Naira Swap initiative as well as the CBN Senior staff nationwide sensitisation team exercise.
“Aside from those holding illicit, stolen Naira in their homes for speculative purposes, we do aim to give all Nigerians that have Naira legitimately earned and trapped the opportunity to deposit their legitimately trapped monies at the CBN for exchange.”

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER NOW
Support MATAZ ARISING’ journalism of integrity and credibility.
Good journalism ensure the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy, and a transparent government.
We ask you to consider making a modest support to this noble endeavour.
TEXT AD: To advertise here – Email ad@matazarising.com
LATEST POSTS
Coalition: APC blames Nigeria’s extreme poverty, corruption, on Atiku, Obi, El-Rufai
MaTaZ ArIsInGDallas, Texas Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesperson for the ADC, could not be reached for response to Mr Morka’s claim. The All Progressives Congress (APC) has blamed Nigeria’s misfortune, rising poverty, corruption and economic stagnation of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Anambra Governor, Peter Obi, and other members of the newly formed coalition. Felix Morka,…
The North Will Celebrate Me If I Am President — Peter Obi
MaTaZ ArIsInGDallas, Texas The presidential hopeful implored the people of Northern Nigeria to trust him with their votes, saying he understands the challenges plaguing their region. 2027 presidential aspirant Peter Obi says the northern region of Nigeria will celebrate him if he becomes president. According to him, the greatest asset Nigeria has is in the…
Ohanaeze to Tinubu: Igbos won’t trade Nnamdi Kanu’s freedom for your re-election
MaTaZ ArIsInGDallas, Texas Ohanaeze Ndigbo has warned President Bola Tinubu that the release of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), must not be tied to political support from the southeast in the 2027 elections. In a statement issued on Sunday, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, deputy president-general of the apex Igbo sociocultural organisation, said…