The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has hailed the decision of the federal government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to extend the deadline for the old notes and new naira notes.
NewsOnline reports that Atiku said the CBN’s policy to extend the deadline, has shown act of listening to the patriotic voices of Nigerians who would have been most affected if the 31st January deadline had been implemented.
The former vice president also called on the CBN to focus on monitoring commercial banks to ensure that new naira notes are made available for the citizens.
In his Sunday message, the PDP presidential candidate said, “It is commendable that the CBN finally listened to the patriotic voices for a slight extension of the January 31 deadline for the exchange of old Naira notes to minimize its adverse effects on the most vulnerable of our people.”
Atiku added, “I suggest that the Central Bank of Nigeria should encourage the banks to step up their mobile banking activities to ensure that Nigerians in remote areas and the unbanked benefit from this extension.
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“It is my hope that Nigerians will take advantage of this new window to change their old notes to new ones.”
“A 10-day extension of the deadline from January 31, 2023, to February 10, 2023; to allow for collection of more old notes.
“A 7-day grace period, beginning on February 10 to February 17, 2023, in compliance with sections 20 (3) and 22 of the CBN Act allowing Nigerians to deposit their old notes at the CBN after deadline when the old currency would have lost its Legal Tender Status,” CBN said in a statement released on Sunday.
