Please a Lawmakers Urge CBN To Extend Old Naira Notes Exchange Deadline

By Abbas Musa

Kanempress

24th January 2023

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, was urged by the Senate to extend the deadline for exchanging old Naira notes from January 31 to May 31, 2023. The CBN has been requested to provide an exchange window so that those without bank accounts can deposit their old notes. Sen. Sadiq Umar of the APC from Kwara North originally moved for an extension until July 31 because he was concerned about the apex bank’s insistence that there would be no such extension. It can be recalled that in October last year, the CBN announced that the old naira notes would cease to be legal tender as of January 31. However, the Senate passed a resolution in December requesting that the CBN extend the deadline to June 30. Umar moved the motion, noting that the Senate had requested in its resolution from December 28, 2022, that the CBN extend the use of the old notes from January 31 to June 30, but that the central bank had insisted on doing so by the end of January. The Senator who proposed extending the deadline to July 31 complained that there weren’t enough new naira notes in use, noting that, “Experiences around the world have shown that such abrupt decisions if not controlled usually created chaos. “The Senate should extend the use of the old notes to July 31.”

In their contributions, most Senators overwhelmingly threw their weight behind the extension, citing scarcity of the new notes both in the banks and at the various Automated Teller Machine points across the country.

Supporting the motion, Senator Ibrahim Hadejia, APC-Jigawa North East who noted that the call for extension was for their constituents and not for their (lawmakers’) personal benefits, said, ” In my constituency, no Automated Teller Machine (ATM) is dispensing the new notes.”.

On his part, Senator Adamu Aliero, PDP, Kebbi  Central  said that the policy would inflict untold hardship on people living in the rural areas, “The CBN governor should be invited.”

Also contributing, Senator Adamu Bulkachuwa, PDP-Bauchi North said that the extension was necessary otherwise there would be chaos.

In her contribution, Senator  Biodun Olujimi, PDP, Ekiti South who decried that in her local government area, about 90 per cent of the people have not seen a glimpse of the new naira notes, called on the apex bank to “look away from the elections”.

She said that if the date was not extended, it would lead to collateral damage which would not augur well for the economy.

On his part, Senator Ali Ndume, APC, Borno South called on the Senate to use its oversight responsibility on the CBN to “order the CBN governor to extend the date”.

He said that the power of the senate should not be played down calling on the senators to stand firm on the call for an extension.

For Senator Sam Egwu, PDP-Ebonyi North who was the only Senator that opposed the motion, “Nigerians do not have the culture of keeping their money in the bank. It is in Nigeria where cash is used arbitrarily; other countries use electronic means. Nigerians are just averse to change.”

In his remarks, the President of the  Senate, Senator  Ahmad Lawan who noted that most of the senatorial districts did not have banks, said: “In rural Nigeria, there are no banks and people transact businesses with cash more often.

“There is no doubt that we must have a window for exchange. We must have policies by the CBN to have bank branches established in rural areas.

“We need this extension for the most ordinary Nigerians.”

 Lawan then put the prayers in the motion to vote and the lawmakers voted in support of the extension of the deadline from January 31 to July 31.