Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday gave approval to the central bank to extend the deadline to turn in old banknotes by another 60 days after cash shortages stoked anger ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections next week.
Nigeria's central bank decided last year to start circulating newly designed 1,000 500 and 200 naira notes. The deadline to turn in old notes has already been extended once to Feb. 10, after which they would no longer have been legal tender.
But the new notes have been in short supply, leading to long queues and chaotic scenes at banks across the country. Most of Nigeria's economy is still informal and many people use cash for transactions because they do not have bank accounts. Buhari said in a television broadcast that old 200 notes would continue to circulate in the economy alongside new 1,000, 500 and 200 notes until April 10.
But the old 1,000 and 500 notes could only be swapped at the central bank and "designated points", he said.
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