Emefiele: Buhari to unveil redesigned naira notes on Wednesday

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele on Tuesday said President Muhammadu Buhari will unveil newly designed N1,000, N500 and N200 notes on Wednesday, November 23, 2022. Emefiele made this known during the apex bank’s Monetary Policy Committee monthly meeting in Abuja.

According to him, the CBN won’t shift its deadline for all old notes to be returned to commercial banks in exchange for newly designed ones. The CBN MPC also hiked monetary policy to 16.5% from 15.5% while all other parameters remained unchanged.

Emefiele had on October 26, 2022 said the apex bank will issue redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 notes, effective December 15, 2022, while the new and existing currencies will remain legal tender and circulate together until January 31, 2023.

However, he made a U-turn on Tuesday, saying the CBN won’t wait till December 15 anymore as the President will unveil the new notes on Wednesday.

The bank chief said, “100 days is enough for any person from any part of Nigeria to deposit his money in the bank and get his money when the new notes are released. “For information, indeed, we are no longer waiting till December 15th to unveil and begin to release the new notes.

“By the special grace of God, tomorrow, which is the 23rd of November 2022, the President has graciously accepted to unveil the new currencies and the new currencies will be unveiled tomorrow at the Federal Executive Chamber by 10am.”