CBN insists on a deadline of February 10

There was no need to postpone the February 10, 2023 deadline, according to Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

When he visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday to discuss the bank’s monetary and currency reform policies, he made this statement.

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 10.”

The Federal Government was previously prohibited by the Supreme Court from enforcing the February 10 deadline for the currency swap.

An interim injunction prohibiting the Federal Government, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and commercial banks from enforcing the Friday terminal date for the old naira notes was granted by a seven-member panel of the Supreme Court, chaired by Justice John Okoro, in a unanimous decision.

The CBN governor emphasized that the deadline didn’t need to be pushed back, though.

Additionally, he stated that Point of Sale representatives who charge more than N200 for the CBN cash swap program will be detained and imprisoned when discovered.

The CBN governor added that rather than raising prices for clients, PoS operators might approach the CBN to receive compensation for any additional expenses spent in obtaining the new notes.