The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on its Twitter handle recently disclosed that the newly redesigned naira note remains Nigeria’s legal tender until the deadline date on January 31, 2023.
CBN tweeted, “The current series of N200, N500 and N1,000 notes remain legal tender until the deadline of January 31, 2023”.
The current series of N200, N500 and N1,000 notes remain legal tender until the deadline of January 31, 2023. pic.twitter.com/WWsem5TpyB
— Central Bank of Nigeria (@cenbank) January 6, 2023
With just 24 days left to the deadline date, the CBN is signaling Nigerians to do the needful of depositing old naira notes, or risk forfeiting it after the deadline date.
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The CBN warning has been followed by various reactions from Nigerians, as so many of them have expressed displeasure about the deadline date.
Many complained that the ATMs and banks are still issuing old notes while the deadline date draws near, noting that old notes ought to have been put away a long time ago by financial institutions in the country.
Check out different reactions from Nigerians on Twitter,
@eddieonoriode wrote, “Can we be serious for once pls! As at today, ATM and banks still dispensing the outgone notes!By now, these notes that are suppose to be become illegal tender by 31st if this MONTH!!!!, financial institutions will have stopped issuing them out but rather be receiving them!”
@BenNwokoye wrote, “Like seriously? I went to withdraw money from the ATM (first bank) and was given old notes. I went to the counter to ask for the new notes, I was told I’ll not be given more than 10,000.00. How can the dates be possible when banks are still dispensing old notes.”
Or how do you explain the timeline you’ve posted, and banks still recirculating the old notes instead of mopping them up? SCAM!!!
@SprintLogistic1 wrote, “CBN is a big joke. Honestly. You should know better than anyone else that the v deadline is not realistic. Banks still give the old notes. Atms still dispense the old notes, yet it’s just a coupla weeks to your bogus deadline. No be juju be that?!”
@Oladipupo wrote, “Poor publicity on the street beyond social media. CBN needs to do more by taking this information down to the market men and women. Some of them even still finds it difficult to receive the new note as legal tender. Public awareness outside social media is very LOW.”
@Rose5Chisom wrote, “CBN the new Currency is not much in Circulation. What do you say about that. I can’t even go to the bank because what they give is old Currency. My Opinion is this, the deadline should be postponed and then print more of the new Currency, this time make sure it’s well circulated.
@engr_moob wrote, “There is need to extend the dateline. It is obvious that CBN does not have sufficient amounts of the new notes as most ATMs still dispense the old notes”.
Last year December, recall that the Senate urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to urgently extend the withdrawal date of old currency notes from Jan. 31, 2023 to June 31.
Raising Orders 41 and 51 of Senate Standing Rule, Senator representing Borno South district Ali Ndume said that the call for extension of the date should be considered as a matter of urgent national importance in order to forestall imminent hardship on Nigerians.
In his words, “This senate notes that many Nigerian banks on Thursday, Dec. 15, opened their vaults to customers and depositors to exchange their old currency notes for the newly redesigned currency notes which have a stipulated deadline of Jan. 31.
“Some Nigerians are already envisaging long queues in the banking hall across the country as a result of people trying to get access to the new naira notes. The old notes are expected to be in circulation along the new ones until Jan. 31 when the old ones are expected to be phased out.
“It is expected that many Nigerian businesses will start to rid the old notes as soon as banks start paying redesigned notes to customers. The withdrawal of old notes from circulation if not extended beyond Jan. 31, many Nigerians will be thrown into hardship and to avoid the repeat of 1984 experience withdrawal of old notes.”
Meanwhile, the Central Bank is still hell-bent on maintaining that the deadline date remains the same, following its recent post on Twitter.