POS agents charging above N200 for cash swap will go to jail, Says Emefiele

From Abubakar Yunusa Abuja

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has insisted that there was no need to shift the February 10 deadline for the swapping of the old naira with the newly redesigned naira notes.
The comment by Emefiele is coming against the backdrop of the recent ruling by the Supreme Court which temporarily restrained the CBN from enforcing the February 10 deadline for the naira swap.
This was made known by Emefiele during a visit to the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday to discuss the monetary and currency redesign policy of the apex bank.
The CBN Governor said, “The situation is substantially calming down since the commencement of over-the-counter payments to complement ATM disbursements and the use of super-agents.
“There is, therefore, no need to consider any shift from the deadline of February 10.”
Emefiele also said that Point of Sale (POS) agents who charge above N200 for the CBN cash swap program will be arrested and jailed when caught.
He further added that the POS operators can come to the CBN to be compensated for any extra cost incurred in getting the new notes rather than charging a higher fee on customers.
Recall that on Wednesday, February 10, 2023, a 7-man panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice John Okoro, had in a unanimous decision, temporarily halted plans by the Federal Government and the CBN to ban the use of the old naira notes across the country.
The court was ruling in an ex parte application brought by three northern states of Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara. Justice Okoro also adjourned the matter until February 15 for a hearing of the main suit.
Also, Kano, Ondo, and Rivers among other states, have asked to be joined in the suit at the Supreme Court.