The First Bank of Nigeria will be open for operation on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29, January, 2023 to enable customers to deposit their existing naira notes.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, said that the 31 January deadline it announced for the validity of the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes remains.
As a result, First Bank has encouraged its customers to deposit the current naira notes to the bank before it becomes banned on Tuesday 31 January, 2023.
Here’s the notice from the bank:
“This is to notify the general public that all our branches will be open on Saturday and Sunday just to receive cash.
“All old Naira notes of series 200, 500, and 1000 will cease to be in use from the 31st of January.
#NewNotes #NairaNote #YouFirst.
Thank you
Senate asks CBN to extend deadline to July 31
Meanwhile, the Senate has urged the central bank to extend the deadline for the exchange of old naira notes to July 31, 2023.
Worried by the insistence of the apex bank that there would be no such extension, Senator Sadiq Umar, moved a motion on the floor of the red chamber, demanding the extension to July 31.
Most senators who contributed to the debate overwhelmingly embraced the extension, citing scarcity of the new notes both in the banks and at the various ATMs across the country.
The president of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, put the prayers in the motion to vote and the lawmakers voted in support of the extension of the deadline from January 31 to July 31.
Senators during debate on the motion by Umar said the new notes were not enough in circulation, warning that if the deadline was not extended, there would be chaos in many parts of the country.
The lawmakers also expressed dismay that the CBN had insisted on the January 31 deadline despite public outcry.
George Sekibo (Rivers) and Adamu Bulkachuwa (Bauchi) urged the parliament to devise means to force the CBN to extend the deadline.
Sekibo said the CBN governor had repeatedly shunned the National Assembly against the extant law directing him to brief the parliament periodically on its monetary policies.
Adamu Aliero (Kebbi) and Hassan Hadejia (Jigawa) said the deadline, if allowed to stand, would crumble rural economy, as millions would lose their money.
“Many people, especially in states could not get their old notes exchanged for the new ones. The suffering is excruciating. People are spending long hours queuing in banks without success,” Aliero said.
Biodun Olujimi (Ekiti) said the policy seemed to be targeted at addressing the influence of money in elections, urging the CBN to look beyond the 2023 polls.
The Senate, therefore, asked the CBN to extend the deadline by six months to allow Nigerians especially those in rural areas more time to change their old notes.
The Red Chamber also urged the CBN to compel deposit money banks to open a naira exchange windows for those without bank accounts.
The Senate President assured that the National Assembly leadership would ensure that the resolution was implemented by the CBN.
He said, “There are no banks in many local governments. Most people transact business in cash. The CBN should look at the hues and cries of ordinary Nigerians who have laboured hard to earn legitimate money.”
