The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has extended the deadline for using the old notes till February 10.

The extension was announced by CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele in a statement released on Sunday.

He said that the apex bank had asked President Muhammadu Buhari for permission to extend the time limit for using the old notes by ten days.

The statement reads:

“Based on the foregoing, we have sought and obtained Mr President’s approval for the following:  A 10-day extension of the deadline from January 31 to February 10 to allow for the collection of more old notes legitimately held by Nigerians. 

“A 7-day grace period, beginning from February 10 to February 17, 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.”

In order to guarantee a smooth process for the implementation of the policy, the CBN Governor solicited the cooperation of every Nigerians.

Before the central bank of Nigeria extended the usage of the old naira note, many Nigerians had trouble depositing their old banknotes.

The rush by many Nigerians to meet the initial deadline of January 31 has been chaotic as many of them pack banks halls with large amounts of old currency to exchange for new ones.

Others can be seen waiting in large queues at the few ATM locations that are currently issuing the new naira notes across the country.

The naira redesign has been criticized by some Nigerians, including the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), saying the policy was intended to frustrate his presidential ambition.