The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has stated that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is under statutory obligation to redeem the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes after the January 31, 2023, deadline.
Amid calls to the Apex Bank to shift the deadline, CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele has said he sees no need for an extension.
Speaking via a letter addressed to Emefiele on Saturday, NBA President, Yakubu Maikyau (SAN) expressed his concern about the fate of citizens after the deadline.
Citing the provisions of Section 20 (3) of the CBN Act, Maikyau disclosed that CBN has the power "if directed to do so by the President and after giving reasonable notice in that behalf, to call in any of its notes or coins on payment of the face value thereof and any note or coin with respect to which a notice has been given under this Sub-section, shall, on the expiration of the notice, cease to be legal tender, but, subject to section 22 of this Act, shall be redeemed by the Bank upon demand.”
“Any person who shall be in possession of the old notes which have ceased to be legal tender by 31 January 2023 is at liberty to approach the CBN and demand for the redemption of the notes and the CBN is under statutory obligation to ‘redeem’ the notes", he said.
“Our recommendation on this issue is that in addition to educating Nigerians on demonetisation itself, a campaign on what happens to old bank notes after 31 January should be launched so as to adequately inform the public on what to do and prevent or reverse the rising panic or agitations caused by concerns about the inability of Nigerians to swap their old notes for the new notes by 31 January”, he added.
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