November 16, (THEWILL) – The Nigerian Senate has expressed its support for the policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to redesign some naira notes.
The CBN had on October 26, announced plans to redesign the N200, N500 and N1000 notes.
CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, who announced the plan, had said the action was taken in order to take control of the currency in circulation, as well as other security concerns.
Giving its approval in a resolution at plenary on Wednesday, the Senate pledged to provide legislative support for the policy.
The resolution followed a motion moved by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions, Senator Sani Uba.
While the lawmakers supported the move to redesign the naira notes, they, however, said the deadline of January 31st, 2023, to deposit all cash in circulation into banks was short.
They called for aggressive enlightenment on the part of the CBN, especially in the rural areas, to ensure that all Nigerians are aware of the new policy.
The lawmakers also urged the CBN to put measures in place in the face of ubiquitous Financial Technology (FinTech) to ensure those in rural communities are able to deposit their cash with ease within the stipulated time.
Recall that the CBN had in a statement issued on Sunday, by its Director, Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi, directed the “banking public in rural and/or underserved areas” to access CBN branches in the 36 States of the Federation to enquire about options for “depositing their current N200, N500, and N1,000 notes, wallet/account opening processes, financial access points, etc.”
To further ensure the policy takes care of those in rural communities, the apex bank had also deployed its agents across the country for BVN registration, opening banking accounts/wallets & e-Naira wallets, electronic card distribution, and cash deposit, among others.
The agents have also been accorded priority to enable them to deposit cash collections through bank branches across the federation
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