The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has waded into the current Naira scarcity in Nigeria by calling on the Federal government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to extend the cash swap policy deadline beyond February 10.
The IMF gave the advice after the Supreme Court delivered its restraining ruling on the deadline of the cash swap policy.
In a statement in Abuja on Wednesday issued by Laraba Bonet, on behalf of IMF’s Nigerian Resident Representative Ari Aisen, the global financial institution said it hinged its plea on the hardship Nigerians are going through.
“In light of hardships caused by disruptions to trade and payments due to the shortage of new bank notes available to the public, 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 leading up to the February 10, 2023, deadline,” part of the statement said.