Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Amidst the confusion over Naira re-design policy of the Federal Government, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has said that it had not shifted grounds on the February 10 deadline by the apex bank for the old currency notes to cease to be legal tender.
CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, who stated this Tuesday during a visit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that there was no need to shift the earlier deadline issued by the apex bank.
Emefiele who was at the Ministry to discuss the monetary and currency re-design policy of the CBN, noted that the congestion at banks was beginning to ease off.
“The situation is substantially calming down since the commencement of over-the-counter payments to complement ATM disbursements and the use of super-agents.
“There is, therefore, no need to consider any shift from the deadline of February 10.”
The CBN boss threatened that any Point of Sale (PoS) agents “who charges above N200 for the CBN cash swap programme will be arrested and jailed when caught.”
He said that PoS operators could come to the CBN to be compensated for any extra cost incurred in getting the new notes rather than charging customers exorbitantly.
Ikengaonline reports that despite the order by the Supreme Court for the CBN not to embark on the full implementation on the February 10, people have been rejecting the old currency notes since after the deadline.
