The Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has increased the monetary policy rate to 16.5% from 15.5%, while all other parameters remained constant.
CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele made the announcement during the apex bank’s Monetary Policy Committee monthly meeting in Abuja on Tuesday. Emefiele also stated that the new naira notes will be issued tomorrow, Wednesday, November 23, rather than the previously announced date of December 15, 2022.
The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria indicated that the current N200, N500, and N1000 denominations will be phased out by January 31. According to him, the CBN would not extend the deadline for commercial banks to surrender all old notes in exchange for newly designed ones.
On October 26, 2022, Emefiele stated that the top bank will issue redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 notes beginning December 15, 2022, with the new and old currencies being legal tender and circulating together until January 31, 2023.
However, he reversed his position on Tuesday, stating that the CBN will no longer wait until December 15 because the President will release 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.”
