The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reiterated that the January 31st deadline for Nigerians to deposit their old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes remains sacrosanct despite pressure from various spectrum for an extension.

This was disclosed by CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, who is currently being investigated for several corruption allegations, at the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.

Also at the meeting, Mr Emefiele announced that the apex bank has raised the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), which measures interest rate, to 17.5 per cent.

There have been calls from the public and political spectrum, including House of Representatives, the Senate and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, for an extension to deadline of the invalidity of the old notes, which is set to elapse next week.

Meanwhile, the apex bank and its Governor has thus far refused to bow to pressure.

Mr Emifele affirmed on Tuesday that the January 31st deadline remains sacrosanct, stating Nigerians have been given enough time to swap the old notes for the new notes at commercial banks, which came into circulation in December last year.

There are concerns from Nigerians about the feasibility of depositing the old notes before the deadline, with reports of scarcity of the new notes in commercial banks in remote areas.

Some banks were reportedly still issuing old notes to customers behind the counter, with Automated Teller Manchines (ATMs) still dispensing the old money.

As a result of the reports, the CBN ordered commercial banks to stop over-the-counter payment of the new notes and instead load the redesigned naira notes into ATMs to improve circulation.

The CBN has also introduced a swap programme to enable people in unbanked and remote areas nationwide to exchange the old notes for the new notes before January 31st.