The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has threatened to go tough on financial institutions in the country that are still dispensing old naira notes through their Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).
Kofo Salam-Alada, the Director of the Legal Services Department of the apex bank, who represented the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, made this known during a sensitisation event on the new naira notes in Computer Village Market, in Lagos on Wednesday, January 18, 2023.
His words: “I can tell you today that the CBN on a daily basis issue out the new notes. As we speak, banks are with the CBN taking money. We are actually begging banks to come and take money from Central Bank. We have these new naira notes in our vaults and we are begging banks to come and take them.
“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.
“We also have monitors going around banks now. I have been to some ATMs this morning and I have done the reports. We are not mobilising the masses against the banks because the banks are there to serve you, but be rest assured that they will serve you now that they know that the CBN is on them to serve you with the new naira notes.”
Reacting to questions from traders in the market that some people were selling the new notes, Salam-Alada said anyone caught selling the new notes or any denomination of the naira would be jailed.
