The deadline for the cash swap on February 10 has been asked to be extended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Few minutes after the Supreme Court barred the Federal Government and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from enforcing the deadline, the International Monetary Organization made the decision.
The IMF based its argument on the hardships facing Nigerians in a statement made by Laraba Bonet on Wednesday in Abuja.
It said: “in light of hardships caused by disruptions to trade and payments due to the shortage of new bank notes available to the public, in spite of measures introduced by the CBN to mitigate the challenges in the banknote swap process, the IMF encourages the CBN to consider extending the deadline should problems persist in the next few days leading up to the February 10, 2023 deadline”.
The IMF is the first international financial organisation to openly call for extension of the deadline for the deposit of old Naira notes.