Senate Ask CBN To Extend Deadline Till May 31
Yesterday, the Senate requested that the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, change the January 31 deadline for the exchange of obsolete naira notes to the May 31 deadline.
Additionally, the Senate has encouraged the CBN to establish an exchange window where those without bank accounts can deposit their old bills.
In response to a motion by Senator Sadiq Umar, APC, Kwara North, who had expressed concern over the apex bank’s determination that there would be no extension past July 31, the Senate passed a resolution.
Remember that in October of last year, the CBN announced that the old naira notes will cease to be legal cash as of January 31. However, the Senate passed a resolution in December requesting that the CBN extend the deadline to June 30.
Umar made the motion, noting that the Senate had requested in its resolution from December 28, 2022, that the CBN extend the use of the old notes from January 31 to June 30, but that the top bank had insisted on doing so by the end of January.
The Senator who moved to extend the deadline to July 31 regretted that there weren’t enough fresh naira notes in use. He said:
“Experiences around the world have shown that such abrupt decisions if not controlled usually created chaos.
“The Senate should extend the use of the old notes to July 31.”
The majority of Senators unanimously supported the extension in their remarks, noting a lack of the new notes in banks and at different Automated Teller Machine locations across the nation.
The motion was supported by Senator Ibrahim Hadejia, APC-Jigawa North East, who emphasized that the request for an extension was made on behalf of their constituents and not for their own personal gain.
” In my constituency, no Automated Teller Machine (ATM) is dispensing the new notes.”.
The CBN governor should be invited, according to Senator Adamu Aliero of the PDP from Kebbi Central, who claimed that the policy will cause immeasurable hardship for those living in rural regions.
Senator Adamu Bulkachuwa of the PDP-Bauchi North also provided commentary, stating that the extension was required to avoid anarchy.
In her remarks, Senator Biodun Olujimi of the PDP from Ekiti South lamented that about 90% of the population in her local government area had not even seen a sample of the new naira notes. She urged the apex bank to take immediate action.
“look away from the elections”.
She claimed that failing to extend the deadline would result in collateral damage and be bad for the economy.
For his part, Borno South Senator Ali Ndume of the APC urged the Senate to “order the CBN governor to extend the date” by using its oversight authority over the CBN.
He urged the senators to remain steadfast in their appeal for an extension, saying that the senate’s authority should not be minimized.
As the lone senator from the PDP-Ebonyi North who opposed the motion, Senator Sam Egwu, “Nigerians do not have the culture of keeping their money in the bank. It is in Nigeria where cash is used arbitrarily; other countries use electronic means. Nigerians are just averse to change.”
Senator Ahmad Lawan, the President of the Senate, remarked that the majority of the senatorial districts lacked banks in his speech.
“In rural Nigeria, there are no banks and people transact businesses with cash more often.
“There is no doubt that we must have a window for exchange. We must have policies by the CBN to have bank branches established in rural areas.We need this extension for the most ordinary Nigerians.”
The parliamentarians then voted in favor of extending the deadline from January 31 to July 31 after Lawan added the prayers to the motion to vote.
