IMF said in view of the festering crisis generated by the deadline given for old notes to be exchanged for new ones, the country must consider extending the validity of the old notes because of the disruptions to commerce. Nigeria has witnessed upheavals in some parts of the country owing to difficulties being faced as a result of the swap deadline.
The International Monetary Funds (IMF) on Wednesday waded into the raging Naira swap in Nigeria.
Nigerians have up to Friday February 10 to covert their old N1,000, N500 and N200 notes to new ones. by Friday. Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, had insisted there was no going back in the implementation of the new naira policy. There have been protests in Abeokuta, Ibadan Benin, and other parts of the country over the matter.
But the IMF in a statement on Wednesday said the country needs to review its stand by extending the deadline. Ari Aisen, IMF Resident Representative in Nigeria, said: “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.”
READ ALSO: