A 10-day extension of the deadline for exchanging old Naira notes for new ones was announced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The apex bank’s inability to produce enough fresh notes to meet demand before the initial deadline of January 31, 2023 is supported by a story that was previously reported by QUEST TIMES.
The QUEST TIMES’ reliable sources stated “the capacity of the MINT to print new Naira notes is less than one trillion Naira but the amount of Naira notes to be replaced is much more than that. This is the challenge” in our story CBN, MINT CO. HAS NO CAPACITY TO PRINT ENOUGH CURRENCY NOTES NEEDED IN NAIRA REDESIGN, which was published on January 25th.
A stern-looking CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele vehemently rejected calls for a deadline extension due to the scarce availability of the new notes at the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting last week.
On Saturday, January 28, President Muhammadu Buhari announced that his administration was taking the required actions “to speed up distribution of the new notes and do all that is necessary to forestall cash squeeze and chaos.”
CBN’s Director of Corporate Communications, Mr Osita Nwanisobi, in a chat with QUEST TIMES also insisted that there would be enough notes to go around ahead of the deadline.
According to Nwanisobi, the apex bank was “doing sensitization to increase public awareness of the new notes.” When asked if the Nigeria Security Printing and Minting Plc (NSPMC) or MINT had capacity to print enough new notes ahead of the deadline, he said “Yes, they do.”
In the story, QUEST TIMES had maintained the prospects of “circulation of the new notes before the deadline appear dim for now” because of how “hastily they made the decision [CBN cash swap policy] in the first place.”
The announcement of the extension by CBN shows just that.
You can read our exclusive story here.