Business

Why Buhari Approved Old Naira Deadline Extension — Emefiele

Published

3 years ago

January 29, 2023

President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday, in Daura, approved the Central Bank of Nigeria’s request to extend the deadline for swapping of old naira notes with the redesigned notes from January 31, 2023, to February 10, 2023.

Buhari also approved a seven-day grace period which runs from February 10 to February 17 2023, to allow Nigerians to deposit their old notes at the CBN after which the old notes cease to be Legal Tender.

The CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, disclosed these to State House correspondents shortly after he met the President in his country home in Daura, Katsina State, on Sunday.

He disclosed that 75 per cent of the N2.7tn held outside the banking system had been recovered.

The governor said, “We are happy that so far, the exercise has achieved a success rate of over 75 per cent of the N2.7tn held outside the banking system. Nigerians in the rural areas, villages, the aged and vulnerable have had the opportunity to swap their old notes; leveraging the Agent Naira Swap initiative as well as the CBN senior staff nationwide sensitisation team exercise.

“Aside from those holding illicit/stolen naira in their homes for speculative purposes, we do aim to give all Nigerians that have naira legitimately earned and trapped, the opportunity to deposit their legitimately trapped monies at the CBN for exchange.

“Based on the foregoing, we have sought and obtained Mr President’s approval for the following: 10-day extension of the deadline from January 31, 2023, to February 10, 2023; to legitimately held by Nigerians and achieve more success in cash swap in our rural communities after which all old notes outside the CBN losses their Legal tender Status.

“Our CBN staff currently on mass mobilisation and monitoring together with officials of the EFCC and ICPC will work together to achieve these objectives. A seven-day grace period, beginning on February 10 to February 17,2023, in compliance with Sections 20(3) and 22 of the CBN Act allowing Nigerians to deposit their old notes at the CBN after the February deadline when the old currency would have lost its Legal Tender status.

“We therefore appeal to all Nigerians to work with the Central Bank of Nigeria to ensure a hitch free the implementation of this very important process for program.”

Emefiele also vowed that Nigerians found selling, abusing or spraying the new naira notes at public functions will be “sanctioned” by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

He said with each note having a unique number, abused currencies can now be tracked to their users.

“For those involved in this, even if they are CBN staff members, they will be sanctioned. We will track them. Luckily, those new naira notes have trackers, we have their numbers because they have been issued.

“Once we see these numbers, we will track them and we will make public those that are involved in this business of selling new naira. Whereas, there are people who are suffering in the villages that need those new notes, we will deal with them.

“We have passed on a few videos to the EFCC and they are going to track these people. It’s not about the CBN tracking them. It’s about the EFCC or the ICPC and independent enforcement institutions to go after them,” he said.

Business

Report Any MRS Filling Stations Selling Fuel Above N739 Per Liter — Dangote Refinery To Nigerians

Published

2 days ago

December 23, 2025

Editor

Dangote Refinery has urged Nigerians to report any MRS filling station outlets nationwide selling fuel above the N739 per liter announced price.

The company disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.

The refinery insisted that its petrol being at retail outlets remain N739 per liter while the gantry price is N699.

It further called on other filling station owners to patronize its refined petroleum products at the N699 rate.

“We also call on other petrol station operators to patronize our products so that the benefits of this price reduction can be passed on to Nigerians across all outlets, ensuring broad-based relief and a more stable downstream market.”

Recall that Aliko Dangote, the president of Dangote Refinery, had pegged the retail price of his petrol at a maximum of N740.

DAILY POST reports that MRS filling and other filling stations had reduced fuel prices to between N739 and N912 per liter in Abuja.

However, reports emerged that some MRS filling stations were selling above the N739 per liter announced price benchmark.

Business

Naira Records Significant Appreciation Against US Dollar

Published

2 days ago

December 23, 2025

Editor

The Naira recorded significant appreciation against the United States dollar on Monday at the official foreign exchange market to begin the week ahead of Yuletide on a good note.

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s data showed that the Naira strengthened to N1,456.56 per dollar on Monday, up from N1,464.49 traded on Friday last week, 19th December 2025.

This means that the Naira gained N7.93 against the dollar when compared with the N1,464.49 was exchanged as of Friday, December 19, 2025. DAILY POST reports that Monday’s gain at the official FX market is the first since December 15th.

Business

CBN Revokes Licences Of Aso Savings, Union Homes As NDIC Begins Deposit Payments

Published

1 week ago

December 16, 2025

Editor

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revoked the operating licences of Aso Savings and Loans Plc and Union Homes Savings and Loans Plc, citing persistent regulatory infractions and deepening financial distress in the two primary mortgage banks.

The revocation, which took effect on December 15, 2025, was carried out under Section 12 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020 and Section 7.3 of the Revised Guidelines for Mortgage Banks in Nigeria, the CBN said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

According to the apex bank, the affected institutions failed to meet minimum paid-up share capital requirements, had insufficient assets to cover their liabilities, recorded capital adequacy ratios below prudential thresholds, and consistently breached regulatory directives.

“The CBN remains committed to its core mandate of ensuring financial system stability,” a statement, signed by the apex bank’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Mrs Hakama Sidi Ali said.

Following the licence revocation, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) was appointed liquidator of the defunct banks in line with the law.

The Corporation said it has commenced the liquidation process and begun verification and payment of insured deposits to customers.

Under the deposit insurance framework, depositors are entitled to receive up to two million naira per depositor, with payments made through BVN-linked alternate bank accounts.

Depositors with balances above the insured limit will receive the initial two million naira while the remaining sums will be paid as liquidation dividends after the realisation of the banks’ assets and recovery of outstanding loans.

The NDIC said depositors may submit claims either online or physically at designated branches of the closed banks, while creditors will be paid after all depositors have been fully settled, in accordance with statutory provisions.

The two mortgage banks have faced prolonged operational challenges, including depositor complaints, governance concerns, and delisting from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) in 2024 for failure to submit audited financial statements for more than six years.

The CBN assured the public that the action was taken to strengthen the mortgage banking sub-sector and protect depositors, adding that banks whose licences have not been revoked remain safe and sound.

This means the two financial institutions can no longer operate as licensed financial institutions.