14th February, 2023
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, on Tuesday insisted on February 10 deadline for the withdrawal of old currency notes from circulation in disobedience of the order of Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court had last week restrained the Federal Government and the CBN from implementing the February 10 deadline for the currency swap.
A seven-man panel of the apex court led by Justice John Okoro, in a unanimous ruling, granted an interim injunction restraining the Federal Government, the CBN, and commercial banks from implementing the Friday terminal date for the old naira notes.
The apex court is set to hear the substantive case in the suit filed by some state governors, tomorrow, 15 February.
But Emefiele told journalists on Tuesday that there was no need for the shift of the February 10, 2023, deadline for the swap of the currency notes during a visit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The CBN Governor who was at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss the monetary and currency redesign policy of the bank said the problem of naira scarcity that accompanied the currency redesign policy is easing off.
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 12.”
The CBN Governor added that Point of Sale agents who charge above N200 as commission for cash swap will be arrested and jailed when caught.
Emefiele added that the PoS operators can come to the CBN to be compensated for any extra cost incurred in getting the new notes rather than charging a higher fee on customers.