Emefiele says CBN is not considering deadline extension for the phasing out of the old Naira notes.
By Emma Ogbuehi
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele, has said the bank is not considering deadline extension for the phasing out of the old Naira notes.
Emefiele handed down the warning in a briefing in Lagos, on Friday.
Nigerians, including governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), have asked the apex bank for an extension owing to the scarcity of the redesigned Naira notes.
The APC governors are worried that the naira redesign policy will affect the chances of their presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Tinubu himself had cried out that the lingering fuel crisis and the naira redesign policy were engineered by the powers that be to scuttle his presidential run. At the meeting of the governors with President Muhammadu Buhari on the issue, the president was said to have remained non-committal.
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However, in an emphatic note, Emefiele, said the bank is not considering an extension of the deadline after the 10-day grace recently approved by the President.
Emefiele, appealed to Nigerians to exercise patience noting that the gains of the policy outweigh the initial challenges.
“I want to say unfortunately again, this time, we will not be looking at extension of deadline because we are the central bank and the deposit money banks are doing everything to address the challenges,” he said.
He also said the redesigned naira policy was not targeted at anyone, re-emphasising that the policy is aimed at economic benefits.
He also appealed to Nigerians not to allow themselves to be used to truncate the policy.
“We are doing our work. We are bankers. Those holding protest should not allow themselves to be used,” he said.
He begged Nigerians to show understanding and accept to join queue at the banks
President Muhammadu Buhari had asked Nigerians to give him seven days to take a major decision on the naira redesign policy.
He made the pledge after APC governors met with him at Aso Rock earlier in the day.
