By Ola ‘Kiya, Reporting
ALL hope is not lost for Nigerians who might still be in possession of the old naira notes after the January 31 deadline as they can easily approach the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for redemption.
This means that whether the CBN yields to the cry for extension of the deadline or not, holders of the old naira notes, by law, can still have their hard-earned old notes swapped.
The clarity was made in a statement signed by the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Mr. Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau, and addressed to the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele.
Reaction to the demonetisation policy of the CBN which directs that the old naira notes (N200, N500 and N1000) will cease to be legal tender in Nigeria from February, 2023, NBA insisted in the appeal statement that the law allows Nigerians to redeem their old naira notes at the CBN even after the January 31, 2023 deadline.
In the letter, the NBA also appealed for the urgent review of the demonetisation policy of the CBN even while acknowledging that the policy is laudable as it has the potential to stem corruption, votes buying and other criminal activities.
The NBA President noted that “the necessary logistical, infrastructural and manpower support, required for the successful implementation of the policy are in short supply and should be greatly improved upon if they are to be leveraged for full implementation of the policy with minimal loss or economic hardship.”
In the letter, the NBA President expressed the telling concerns that there is no information in the public domain as to what would happen to the old currency in possession of Nigerians, by or after the 31 January 2023, even as the law is clear on this issue.
Quoting the provisions of Section 20 (3) of the CBN Act which provides that “notwithstanding Sub-sections (1) and (2) of this section, the Bank shall have power, if directed to do so by the President and after giving reasonable notice in that behalf, to call in any of its notes or coins on payment of the face value thereof and any note or coin with respect to which a notice has been given under this Sub-section, shall, on the expiration of the notice, cease to be legal tender, but, subject to section 22 of this Act, shall be redeemed by the Bank upon demand.”
Mr. Maikyau noted that “any person who shall be in possession of the old notes which have ceased to be legal tender by 31 January 2023 is at liberty to approach the CBN and demand for the redemption of the notes and the CBN is under statutory obligation to “redeem” the notes.”
In view of the dearth of information in this regard, the NBA President added that “our recommendation, on this issue is that in addition to educating Nigerians on demonetisation itself, a campaign on what happens to old bank notes after 31 January should be launched so as to adequately inform the public on what to do and prevent or reverse the rising panic or agitations caused by concerns about the inability of Nigerians to swap their old notes for the new notes by 31 January.”
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