By the deadline of January 31, 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria has promised that the new naira notes will be distributed throughout the whole country.
Many stakeholders have urged the CBN to extend the deadline for phase-out of the old N1,000, N500, and N200 notes from January 31 to June 30, 2023, but the central bank has refused to budge.
Speaking to market men and women at the event on Wednesday at the Oja Oba Market in Akure, the capital of Ondo State, Mr. Giwa Ademola, the acting branch controller for the CBN in Ondo State, said that the purpose of the sensitization was to inform the public about the recently redesigned naira notes.
Ademola continued, “The occasion was also organised to inform them on the need to deposit the old notes before the deadline.
He said: “The benefits of the currency redesign to the Nigerian economy are enormous given that this policy will help to control inflation, as the exercise will bring the hoarded currency into the banking system, thereby making monetary policy more effective.
“It will also help with better design and implementation of monetary policy as we will have much more accurate data on money supply and monetary aggregates.
“Statistics show that N2.72 trillion out of the $3.26 trillion currency in circulation as of June 2022 was outside the vaults of commercial banks across the country, and supposedly held by members of the public. This statistic shows that 84.71 per cent of currency in circulation are outside the vaults of commercial banks, with only 15.29 per cent in the central bank and commercial banks’ vaults.
“We believe that this exercise will help in increasing financial inclusion, moving towards a more cashless economy, and ensuring greater formalisation of the Nigerian economy.
“The currency redesign will assist in the fight against corruption as the exercise will rein in the higher denomination used for corruption, and the movement of such funds from the banking system can be tracked easily.”
The CBN governor urged Nigerians to make sure that they deposit cash with them at their commercial banks since there is no limit on the amount that a client may deposit between now and January 31, 2023.
The general public, Ademola said, should look into other payment methods for their economic activities, such as eNaira, the Point of Sales, electronic transfer, the USSD, Internet banking, and mobile money providers and agents.
