Central Bank of Nigeria says it is not considering extending further the deadline for the phasing out of the old Naira notes.
Many Nigerians, including governors of the ruling All Progressives Congress, have appealed to the apex bank for further extension due to the scarcity of the redesigned Naira notes.
But CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said the bank will not extend the deadline after the 10-day grace recently approved by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Emefiele, who said this in Lagos, appealed to Nigerians to exercise patience, saying the gains of the policy outweigh the initial challenges.
“I want to say unfortunately again, this time, we will not be looking at extension of deadline because we are the central bank and the deposit money banks are doing everything to address the challenges,” he said.
The CBN governor also said the redesigned naira policy was not targeted at anyone, reemphasising that the policy is aimed at economic benefits.
He warned Nigerians not to allow themselves to be used to truncate the policy.
“We are doing our work. We are bankers. Those holding protest should not allow themselves to be used,” he said.
The apex bank boss begged Nigerians to show understanding and accept to join queue at the banks
President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier on Friday appealed to Nigerians to give him seven days to take a major decision on the naira redesign policy.
He said this at a meeting with APC governors at Aso Rock Villa earlier in the day.