Rep. Afam Ogene, Chief of the Labour Occasion Caucus within the Home of Representatives, criticized the Central Financial institution of Nigeria (CBN) over confusion concerning the concurrent use of outdated and new Naira notes. His remarks adopted the CBN’s clarification on a latest Supreme Courtroom ruling, which didn’t specify when the outdated N200, N500, and N1000 notes would stop to be authorized tender.
In a movement throughout an October 24 Home plenary session, Ogene known as on the CBN to make clear the validity of each forex notes, with an emphasis on an efficient deadline for the outdated notes by January 1, 2025. Nevertheless, he expressed disappointment on the CBN’s lack of a transparent coverage, which he described as a failure in regulatory duty.
Ogene acknowledged an unintentional oversight within the movement, which missed referencing the Supreme Courtroom’s choice on the continued use of each notice sorts. The Home subsequently instructed its Committee on Banking Rules to interact the CBN and report again inside 21 days. Nevertheless, Ogene famous that the CBN’s response to the Home’s movement recommended that the legislative directive might “disrupt the fee system.”
Questioning the twin use of forex, Ogene requested, “Which nation operates with two conflicting units of forex notes? Wasn’t the CBN’s introduction of latest notes meant to finally part out the outdated ones?”
He additionally identified the poor situation of banknotes distributed by business banks, noting that prospects lose cash because of the torn and broken notes. He known as on the CBN to prioritize readability and duty in managing the nation’s forex, relatively than deflecting the difficulty indefinitely.
