Financial professionals have applauded the selection of the Central Bank of Nigeria to increase the cut-off date for the swapping of the brand new naira notes with the vintage ones in movement to February 10.
The apex financial institution’s selection on Sunday observed clamours via way of means of Nigerians inclusive of stakeholders, the 36 country governors, the Nigerian Bar Association, the Arewa Consultative Forum and financial institution customers, for a assessment of the coverage and an extension of the January 31 cut-off date.
Reacting to the development, President, Association of Capital Market Academics of Nigeria and the country’s first professor of Capital Market, Uche Uwaleke, who spoke with our correspondent thru cellphone on Sunday, stated the extension of the cut-off date via way of means of the CBN until February 10 portrayed the CBN as a responsive agency that turned into touchy to the yearnings of Nigerians.
“The revision of the coins withdrawal limits confirms that the apex financial institution is following up troubles and approach properly for Nigerians.
“This cut-off date extension will lessen the queues on the ATM, lessen panic and uncertainty amongst small commercial enterprise proprietors in far off regions and extra importantly, permit extra time for the brand new naira notes to flow into even as the vintage ones back to the CBN for the reason that approximately N900 billion remains outdoor the banks as found out via way of means of the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele”, he stated.
Uwaleke also said a new deadline ahead of the Feb. 25 presidential election was set to reduce vote buying and end the current practice of rejecting old banknotes, even though they are still legal tender. emphasized that
He praised the CBN move, as did President Maj. Gen. Muhammad Buhari (veteran) for approving the extension.
Dr. Nnaemeka Obiaraeri, investment banker and chief executive officer of Taurus Capital Limited, said the liquidation helped reduce the rate at which kidnappers endlessly demand large sums of money from their victims. He said the policy was commendable.
Obiaraeri maintained that it had also frustrated the politicians hoarding money to buy votes in the forthcoming election, saying they had an option to deposit their old notes or lose everything to the policy.
“The records by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Bureau of Statistics and CBN show that over 133 million multidimensional poor Nigerians and over 178 million Nigerians do not earn more than N60,000 per month and do not have enough to feed in a day with the level of the country’s economic inflation”, he said.
He, therefore, encouraged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Department of State Services and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, among others to keep close tab on all the branch managers, regional managers, heads of operations, CEOs and key relationship managers of the deposit money banks in Nigeria by putting 24/7 surveillance around them in order to help stop any hanky-panky action capable of sabotaging the efforts of policy.
“The CBN should also engage KPMG Advisory Services, PWC, and Deloitte to conduct a quick random sampled crash audit within the next seven days to ascertain what commercial banks did with the old notes deposited and the new ones disbursed to them by the apex bank,” he added.
Emefiele while speaking on the extension said the CBN had got N1.7 trillion worth of old naira notes so far, with N500 billion more to go. However, the CBN governor has remained silent about how much cash the Naira redesign will leave outside the banking system.
