The governor of Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele, shortly after the Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Tuesday stated that the 31 January deadline for the collection of old naira notes remains sacrosanct.

Emefiele’s statement came after the National Assembly deliberated on the need for the apex bank to extend the collection of the old naira notes to June in view of the rush with which the policy is being implemented and how the rural and unbanked communities would suffer the consequences.

It could be recalled that last year, the CBN announced its decision to redesign the N200, N500 and N1000 notes in its quest to move the country to a cashless economy.

Though the policy has continued to generate mixed reactions from Nigerians, it has the blessing of Mr President. There is no gainsaying the fact that the policy is a big blow to money launderers, kidnappers and vote/voters’ buyers.  However, it has come at the wrong time. Majority of Nigerians do not have bank accounts and 80 percent of transactions in the country are cash backed.

Besides, lack of good network systems coupled with erratic power supply have made electronic banking services across the country, especially in rural areas, more difficult and unreliable to Nigerians.

The CBN’s January deadline is like putting a cart before the horse. While the grace period granted to Nigerians to deposit their old notes was 90 days; there was inadequate enlightenment and sensitization campaign not only by the CBN but also by other government agencies such as the National Orientation Agency to enable Nigerians to be abreast of the policy.