The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has given a fresh update
on the deadline to phase out old naira notes.
CBN disclosed this on Monday in a bulk message to Nigerians.
Nigeria’s apex bank urged Nigerians not to wait until
January 31, 2023, the deadline, before depositing their old naira N200, N500,
N1,000 at the bank.
“Don’t wait till January 31, 2023, to deposit your old N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes with your bank or agent”, the SMS reads.
Earlier, the CBN ordered all commercial banks to load their
ATMs with the new naira notes.
The Director of Currency Operations, Mr Ahmed Umar, made
this disclosure.
“We, CBN management, have ordered banks to stop putting old
notes in their ATMs. They should only put the new notes,” he said.
Checks by DAILY POST gathered that Maitama, Wuse, Jabi, Utako,
Kubwa, and Gwarimpa areas of the Federal Capital Territory are yet to comply
fully.
Benjamin Anayo expressed disappointment after an ATM in Wuse
Market dispensed old naira notes to him.
He said, “I came here to withdraw money to buy some
ingredients at Wuse market, but to my surprise, the N20,000 I withdrew all came
out in old notes.”
Another bank customer, Adamu Abdullahi, said when he used
the ATM in Utako, it dispensed both new and old Naira notes.
Reacting to the development in a chat with DAILY POST, a
financial inclusion/wealth management expert, Mr Idakolo Gbolade, called on CBN
to extend the deadline to avert a new microeconomic problem occasioned by new
naira notes scarcity.
“The CBN needs to adequately address the current scarcity of
the new notes as most banks have limited quantities to load their ATMs. When
you visit most of the ATMs in urban areas, you will discover partial compliance
with the CBN’s directives, as the ATMs are loaded with a mixture of old and new
notes.
“Due to the impending deadline, the CBN must release its
performance on the distribution of the new notes and probably extend the
deadline to ensure that scarcity after the January 31 deadline won’t create a
new microeconomic problem for the country”, he said.
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The CBN is no serious!
ReplyDeleteTill today, I have not seen the new currency with anybody more than 5 pieces in any of the denomination!