The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said on Saturday that the old 200, 500, and 1,000 naira notes will be valid until January 31.
The apex bank has been under pressure from Nigerians, including two lawsuits, to extend the deadline.
However, it claimed, via its verified Twitter account, that the January 31 deadline remains unchanged.
The bank retweeted a video of CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele from the recent Monetary Policy Committee meeting, emphasizing the deadline.
Quoting from a report, Emefiele said: “It says ‘reports suggest that many people want the deadline to be shifted for reasons ranging from their inability to gain access to the new notes or deposit their old currencies.
“I must say here that unfortunately, I don’t have good news for those who feel we should shift the deadline, my apologies.
“The reason is that just like the president has said on more than two occasions and even to people privately, that for us 90 days, in fact, we feel 100 days is enough for anybody who has money or the old currency to deposit it in the banks. And we took every measure to ensure that all the banks were open and are still open to receive all old currencies. 100 days, we believe, is more than adequate.”
The CBN on October 26, 2022, announced its plan to redesign the three banknotes. The president unveiled the redesigned N200, N500 and N1,000 notes on November 23, 2022, while the apex bank fixed the January 31 deadline for the validity of the old notes.
