New Naira Notes: CBN Lays Strong Allegation, Threatens to Go After Banks Loading ATMs With Old Notes
- The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that it has loads of the new naira notes packed in its vaults
- The apex bank said that it has been begging commercial banks to come and collect these notes and dispense to citizens across the country
- According to the CBN, any bank found dispensing old naira notes using its Automated Teller Machines will be sanctioned
Despite the approaching deadline for the use of the newly redesigned naira note, commercial banks across the country are not picking up the notes, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said.
Daily Trust reports that the CBN said it has been begging commercial banks across the country to pick up the new notes to no avail.
Source: Getty Images
In 2022, the CBN announced a redesign and subsequent launch of N200, N500 and N1,000 notes on December 15, noting that the old ones would cease to become legal tender by January 31.
While there have been concerns over the acceptance and wide circulation of the new notes, its scarcity has been the order of the day less than two weeks before the stipulated deadline.
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CBN now monitoring commercial banks
Speaking at a sensitisation program in Lagos, the head of the legal department of CBN, Kofo Salam-Alada, said the apex bank will go tough on banks that continue to fill their Automated Teller Machines with the old naira notes.
Salam-Alada said:
"I can tell you today that the CBN on a daily basis issues new notes. As we speak, banks are with the CBN taking money. We are actually begging banks to come and take money from the Central Bank. We have these new naira notes in our vaults and we are begging banks to come and take it.
“We found out that a lot of things are happening that we need to checkmate, so we stopped withdrawal of new notes over the counter to ensure that everyone can have access to it and not one chief who is known to the manager, walks in, and carts away all the new notes in a particular branch.
"That is why we said it should be in the ATMs which cannot distinguish people."
Salam-Alada also noted that the apex bank has monitors around banks to ensure that the right thing is done in fast-tracking the circulation of the new naira notes.
Just in: Intrigues, suspense as court gives fresh verdict on CBN governor’s case
A new date has been fixed for the hearing of the CBN Governor's case regarding the $53 million judgement debt arising from the Pars Club refund.
In a fresh ruling on Wednesday, January 18, the court in Abuja adjourned the case till March 20th, without a reason.
A legal practitioner, Joe Agi, SAN, had obtained a judgment summons against the CBN governor following his alleged refusal to obey the order of the court for the payment of the judgment debt.
DSS move to interrogate bank CEOs over foreign exchange allocations dating back to 2017
Nigeria’s secret Police, the Department of State Security Services (DSS) began an investigation into the forex received by and allocations to bank customers by each bank in the country and the involvement of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The move comes at a time of heightened searchlight on the governor of CBN, Godwin Emefiele who reportedly resumed work on Monday, January 16, 2022, after reports that he will be arrested on allegations of fraud and terrorism financing.
The bank CEOs have been given the deadline of Wednesday, January 18, 2023, to come up with detailed information about the privileged individuals and entities that have got foreign exchange allocations since 2017 to date.
Source: Legit.ng
