The portal created by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the collecting of old naira notes is not functioning.
In an effort to facilitate a seamless implementation of the currency redesign policy, the CBN had unveiled the portal on Wednesday. This was in conjunction with the start of its currency redemption exercise.
The CBN claims that the portal allows Nigerians who were unable to deposit their old N1,000 and N500 notes at commercial banks by the deadline to redeem (or deposit) them by filling out an online form.
“Please click here to create your profile, generate reference and print out receipt for you to proceed to nearest CBN branch to deposit your old N1000, N500 and N200 notes into your bank account,” a notification on CBN’s website it reads.
But visiting the site on Friday, TheCable observed that the platform was out of service.
In a notice to customers, CBN said service on the portal was temporarily interrupted for maintenance.
“Service interruption for maintenance. We will be back shortly. We regret any inconvenience caused by this,” the notice reads.
President Muhammadu Buhari announced the extension of the validity of old N200 notes till April 10.
Speaking on the development in a televised nationwide address on Thursday, the president said all existing old N1000 and N500 have ceased to be legal tender.
Buhari, however, said the old N1,000 and N500 notes remain redeemable at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and designated points.