As the days draw nearer to the announced date when the old naira notes will be phased out, experts have suggested that the more realistic plan is for the Central Bank of Nigeria to extend the deadline.
The CBN maintained its position and refused to extend the January 31 deadline for phasing out N200, N500, and N1000 notes.
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The Governor of CBN, Godwin Emefiele, on Tuesday in Abuja, after the Monetary Policy Meeting, insisted that there is no going back on the deadline.
Economic experts reacting to this stance stated that poor and innocent Nigerians would lose their hard-earned money.
On Tuesday, the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, CPPE, Dr. Muda Yusuf, said the more realistic option is for CBN to extend the deadline.
According to him, it is evident that CBN has production and logistics challenges regarding the new banknotes.
He stated that the CBN’s stance on not shifting the deadline would have consequences for Nigerians.
“On the currency exchange, it is evident that CBN has serious production and logistics limitations regarding the new currency notes.
“The most realistic option is to extend the deadline. Otherwise, there will be severe business disruptions, especially within the SME space, the informal sector, and the rural economy. Many innocent Nigerians will lose their hard-earned money,” he said.
Also, a financial expert, Mr. Idakolo Gbolade, said, “I am now concluding that the deadline is punitive and could cause some uninformed Nigerians significant loss if the dynamics remain the same.”
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Similarly, an Accounting and Financial Development don at Lead City University, Ibadan, Prof Godwin Oyedokun, disclosed, “It is not our fault as citizens, and we cannot be made to suffer the inefficiency of those charged with governance”.
On October 26, 2022, CBN announced the naira redesign policy, and barely a month after, on November 23, President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled the new naira notes, followed by its circulation on December 15.
