Redesigned Naira presently in banks, ready for issuance – Emefiele

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, says the newly redesigned Naira notes are already in banks and ready for issuance.

According to a statement on CBN's official Twitter handle, Emefiele said so in Daura while on a visit to brief President Muhammadu Buhari on the Naira redesign and the recently reintroduced cashless policy.

He said that the currency redesign and reintroduced cashless policies were not targeted at anybody but are for the good and development of the Nigerian economy.

He urged Nigerians to embrace the various electronic channels available for banking and financial service transactions in Nigeria.

"The newly redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes are now in banks and ready for issuance to members of the public.

"The currency redesign and reintroduced cashless policies are not targeted at anybody but are for the good and development of the Nigerian economy."

"The CBN deferred the cashless policy severally to prepare and deepen Nigeria's payment system infrastructure," he said.

Emefiele advised Nigerians to take their old N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes to the banks before the January 31, 2023, deadline.

Supreme reports that the apex bank announced plans to redesign certain denominations of the naira during its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on October 26.

It, thus, set Dec. 15 as the official start date for the circulation of the new naira notes, which President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled on Nov. 23.

The CBN also recently issued a revised cash withdrawal policy, stating that cash withdrawals above N100,000 and N500,000 for individuals and corporate organizations will henceforth attract five percent and 10 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives, at its Thursday plenary, asked the apex bank to suspend implementation of the cash withdrawal policy.

The legislators asked Emefiele to appear next Thursday to explain to the House the impact and significance of the new policy.

The suspension is to last pending the outcome of the expected engagement with the House on the compliance with the relevant sections of the CBN Act and the 1999 Constitution on the monetary policies of the CBN.