No going back on January 31, deadline for old currency – CBN

From TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has appealed to people living in Rivers State, to ensure they deposit their old currency on or before January 31, 2023.

Branch Controller of CBN in Rivers State, Mr. Maswell Okafor, made the appeal, when he addressed Rivers residents in Port Harcourt, yesterday, on the January 31, deadline, when the old currency would cease to be a legal tender.

Okafor urged Nigerians to deposit all their old notes before the deadline which is January 31, this year.

He said the reason for the redesign was to boost Nigerian economy, and also reduce criminal act in the country.

The branch controller said the country’s apex bank did not only redesign new notes, but also introduced E-Naira cashless product, thereby reducing the use of cash for transactions.

Also, he said the new notes have security thereby helping CBN to track the quantity that is in circulation and also stop counterfeited money.

Speaking further, he stated that the denominations that were redesigned, which included N200, N500 and N1,000 have the benefit that would accrue to Nigerians.

He added that the new currency and denominations will not be for a few Nigerians, but to the entire Nigerians.

The branch controller urged the citizens not to be afraid of the new notes, but see it as a new development for the benefit of everyone.

He said: “When we do that, whatever we save from printing the old naira notes will be used to give out loan to small business and that no bank will charge you when depositing your old notes.”