Commercial banks in Nigeria will still accept old naira notes from customers after the February 10 deadline, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, told the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

Emefiele stated this while appearing before the ad hoc committee set up by the House on the CBN naira redesign policy, although he did not state how long the expired notes would be admitted by the banks.

The Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, had accused the CBN governor of breaching Section 20 of the CBN Act which, according to him, mandates commercial banks to accept old notes even after the deadline.

“After the expiration date, such naira notes changed will no longer be legal tender but it also says that even five months, three months, or two months after, even in June, all the old notes presented to the bank shall be redeemed by the bank,” Gbajabiamila had stated in a Thursday speech.