The lawmakers therefore urged the apex court to extend the deadline for the withdrawal of old naira notes from circulation to July 31, 2023.
The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday asked the Central Bank of Nigeria to reconsider the January 31, 2023, deadline it set for the rejection of the old N200, N500 and N1000 naira notes.
The lawmakers therefore urged the apex court to extend the deadline for the withdrawal of old naira notes from circulation to July 31, 2023.
SaharaReporters had reported that CBN, on December 15, began circulating newly redesigned N200, N500 and N1000 notes and set January 31st, 2023 as the deadline for the withdrawal of old notes.
The Red Chamber directed the CBN to extend the deadline in December 2022, but the apex bank rejected the resolution.
As the deadline approaches, this has caused panic in many parts of the country, with thousands, particularly in rural areas, storming banks to exchange old notes for new ones.
Senators said there weren't enough new notes in circulation during Tuesday's plenary debate on a motion sponsored by Senator Sadiq Suleiman Umar (APC, Kwara), warning that if the deadline wasn't extended, there would be chaos in many parts of the country.
The lawmakers were also disappointed that the CBN insisted on the January 31 deadline despite widespread public outrage.
As a result, the Senate requested that the CBN extended the deadline by six months to give Nigerians, particularly those in rural areas, more time to exchange their old notes.
The senators also demanded the CBN to compel commercial banks to open naira exchange windows for those without bank accounts to exchange their old naira notes.
Senate President Ahmad Lawan assured that the National Assembly leadership would ensure that the resolution was implemented by the CBN.