New Naira Notes: CBN threatens to sanction banks over non-compliance

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has on Thursday, randomly paid an unscheduled visit to some commercial banks in Lafia, the capital of Nasarawa State to ascertain level of compliance to its directive of dispensing new naira notes to customers.

Atiku Mohammed, the CBN’s director of security services, who represented Godwin Emefiele, the CBN governor, led a delegation to a day sensitization meeting with traders on the new redesigned naira notes to traders at the Alamis (Thursday) Market in Lafia.

Among the commercial banks visited by the CBN during the visit are: Access Bank, Zenith Bank, UBA, FCMB, First Bank, GTBanks, among others as they were found dispensing the old naira notes, through the Automated Teller Machines (ATM).

The apex however called on residents of the state to reject the old naira notes in order to compel banks to comply with its directive of January 31, 2023.

The CBN governor then warned commercial banks still dispensing old naira notes to their customers should henceforth desist or risk sanction.

Emefiele called on residents of Nasarawa State to reject old naira notes dispensed to them by any commercial bank henceforth.

“When you go to any bank and you are issued the old two hundred, five hundred and one thousand naira notes do not collect because you will be collecting tissue paper that will not be acceptable from 31st of January this year.

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“We will sanction any bank in Nasarawa state and elsewhere that is found guilty of dispensing the old naira notes at ATMs or counters to customers.

“The central bank has supplied adequate new naira notes to the various commercial banks. Nobody should collect the old naira notes again. If any bank issues old naira notes to you, report such bank to the CBN for appropriate action.

The CBN governor, therefore, insisted that despite appeals by some traders calling for extension of time, he said that there will be no extension of the fixed date to phase out the old naira notes.

He, therefore, urged traders to make haste and change their monies before the deadline.

Emefiele encouraged traders and other residents to embrace e-banking for their transactions, saying the policy would go a long way to address insecurity and improve the nation’s economy.

Shehu Yakubu, Lafia Branch Controller, CBN, advised the traders and other stakeholders to take the redesigned Naira notes policy seriously by changing their old notes before the deadline.

Yakubu said, failure to adhere to the instruction, the old notes starched in homes and other places outside the banks would no longer be acceptable and become like toilet tissue paper.