The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has advised the Federal Government of Nigeria to extend the February 10 deadline for the validity of three old naira notes if citizens continue to find it difficult to get the redesigned N200, N500 and N1,000 notes.

“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,” IMF Resident Representative in Nigeria, Ari Aisen, said in a statement on Wednesday.

The CBN had earlier set January 31 as the deadline for the validity of old naira notes but later extended it to February 10 after outcry by many Nigerians.

Even after the extension, Nigerians still found it difficult to access both new naira notes, sparking protests from parts of the country.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Wednesday restrained the Federal Government from implementing the February 10 deadline for the old naira notes.