New Notes: NUBIFIE confirms scarcity, seeks deadline extension
The National President, Nigeria Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE), Anthony Abakpa, has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to as a matter of national importance, extend the deadline for the acceptance of old Naira notes.
In an interview, he said, “We would have loved for an extension on the deadline that the CBN has issued for those who are underprivileged and those who live in rural areas where there are no banks and they have to travel a distance before they can carry out banking transactions even on the PoS. We will also love it if they can extend it for every individual to be able to deposit their old notes.
“We advise that there should be a little extension like a month so that everybody can deposit the old notes.”
Though he claimed that to a large extent, most of the Automated Teller Machines in Lagos had started dispensing new notes, checks by Business Hilights across the federation show that not all banks are dispensing the new notes even as at Friday, January 13, 2023 when the deadline is 31st.
Already, there are strong indications that a new date may be announced before or during the CBN Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting coming up on Wednesday, January 25, 2023.
As it has become clear that the apex bank has not supplied sufficient new currency notes to the banks, deadline extension is imminent. Even many of us in the CBN have not seen the new notes. The absence of the CBN governor has also clouded the issue and that is why no statement has been made regarding the extension of the deadline.
A top bank official said on Friday that from the look of things, most certainly, a new deadline may be announced before the end of the month or during the MPC meeting coming up between January 24 and 25.”
