On January 31, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele appeared before the House of Representatives ad-hoc Committee on New Naira Re-design and Naira Swap Policy to speak on the naira re-design policy. The chamber had repeatedly invited Emefiele and even threatened to sign an arrest warrant to compel him to appear before the House to answer questions on the naira re-design policy, insisting that the CBN was acting in contravention of section 20 of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act 2007. In 2022, the CBN had announced January 31 as the deadline for the use of the old naira notes for transactions. However, it eventually bowed to pressure to extend the deadline to February 10 due to the scarcity of the new notes. While this was a welcome development in several quarters, the House ad-hoc Committee on the New Naira Re-design led by the House Majority Leader, Hon. Alhassan Doguwa rejected the extension, insisting that the CBN should comply with section 20 of the CBN Act.
Section 20 (1), (2) and (3) of the CBN Act provides as follows:
- The currency notes issued by the Bank shall be legal tender in Nigeria at their face value for the payment of any amount.
- The coins issued by the Bank shall, if such coins have not been tampered with, be legal tender in Nigeria at their face value up to such amount or amounts as may be determined, from time to time, by the Bank.
- Notwithstanding sub-sections (1) and (2) of this section, the Bank shall have 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.
Appearing before the House on Tuesday, January 31, Godwin Emefiele explained that while the old naira notes will cease to be used for transactions on the February 10 deadline, the Central Bank will still continue to collect these notes after the deadline in accordance with section 20 (3) of the CBN Act. He explained that the naira redesign and cashless policy was in the interest of the country, particularly to moderate inflation and combat insecurity. He also stated that out of N2.7 trillion of old notes in circulation, the CBN had retrieved N1.9 trillion.
The House which did not go on recess last week like its Senate counterpart in order to address the naira swap issue, eventually adjourned plenary to February 28.