Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Godwin Emefiele after meeting with President Muhammad Buhari Sunday morning in Abuja, agreed to shift the deadline for the swapping of the old naira notes to February 10.
He said the ten days period of grace would enable the CBN to collect more old naira notes from Nigerians and achieve more cash swap success in the rural areas.
Mr. Emefiele continued that CBN staff has been mobilised to ensure success in the swap program which according to him has been long over due. He disclosed that about N1.9trillion has been collected by the CBN out of the N3.23trillion in circulation.
He urged Nigerians to work with the CBN to ensure the success of the naira swap programe, which according to him will help curb inflation and help reduce illicit currency manipulation.
The CBN governor was under intense pressure to extend the deadline as Nigerian were unable to get the new naira notes as the January 31 deadline approached. Some of the Banks were still dispensing the old naira notes as at Friday and the ATMs were idle.
