The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has said that the January 31st deadline for the validity of the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes remains, and will not be shifted for anything.

Emefiele announced this after the apex bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, January 24.

Speaking at the meeting, Emefiele said kidnapping and ransom-taking have reduced since the three banknotes were redesigned. He said that the time given for the swap of the old naira notes with new ones should be enough for Nigerians to go to commercial banks and get new notes.

”I must say that unfortunately, I don’t have good news for those who feel we should shift the deadline, my apologies.

The reason is because 90 days (we feel it’s 100 days) should be enough for those who have the old currency to deposit it to the banks” he said

Recall that on October 26, 2022, the apex bank announced its plan to redesign the three banknotes. President Buhari subsequently unveiled the redesigned N200, N500 and N1,000 notes on November 23, 2022, while the apex bank fixed January 31 deadline for the validity of the old notes.

There have been concerns from many Nigerians over the slow spread of the three new naira notes as the January 31 2023 deadline approaches but the apex bank has insisted that the date stands.