Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has extended the duration for the use of old naira notes in a bid to calm tensions over the lack of cash.
The government had expected Nigerians to turn in old 1,000, 500 and 200 naira banknotes in exchange for newly designed notes by February 10 after an initial extension from January ending.
With the shortage of cash sparking chaos and tension ahead of the general elections next week, President Buhari said the old notes will remain legal tender for another 60 days.
Buhari said that the old 500 and 1,000 naira notes could only be exchanged at the central bank and other designated places. But the 200 naira will remain in use for the next two months.
The central bank wanted the note swap initiative to curb cash in circulation and control double-digit inflation.
But the International Monetary Fund has already flagged disruptions to trade and payments as chaotic scenes greeted several banks and ATM centers in past few weeks.
The chaos also created concerns ahead of the country’s general elections on February 25 as campaigns are funded by mostly hard to trace cash.
About 1.3 trillion naira ($2.8 billion) in old notes had been deposited into the bank since the announcement in October last year, according to the bank.
The deadline to exchange the money was supposed to have been ending of last month, but it was extended by 10 days to give more people in rural areas time to get the new notes, the central bank’s governor had said.
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Source: Africafeeds.com
