The Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN) has launched a countdown clock showing when the old Naira would stop being a legal tender.
The countdown clock is visible on the home page of the CBN’s website. The clock shows January 31, 2023, the deadline for the N200, N500, and N1,000 notes to “remain legal tenders.”
Back story
The apex bank had announced a Naira redesign policy to produce new notes for three of the naira denominations in circulation: N200, N500, and N1,000 notes.
The CBN had set December 15, 2022, as the official start day for circling the new naira notes. It said the currency currently in circulation would remain legal tender alongside the new Notes from December 15, 2022, to January 31, 2023.
The policy sent shock waves to the forex market as the Naira hit its lowest point of N910/$1 before recovering to trade at N680/$1.
Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, had explained that the decision to redesign the naira notes was made to ensure macroeconomic stability. He said the goal was to create a strong, stable, and resilient economy that is self-sufficient and capable of weathering unexpected shocks.
For the record :
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed that commercial banks in the country remain open on Saturdays until January 31, 2023, to allow bank customers to exchange old naira notes for new ones
Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, had claimed that people were hoarding naira notes. Statistics showed that more than 80% of the currency in circulation was not kept in commercial banks’ vaults.
In September 2022, a total of N3.2 trillion was in circulation, of which N2.73 trillion was outside the bank vaults. He described this situation as unacceptable.
