The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has directed commercial banks to begin the payment of the new naira notes to customers over the counter.
This is according to a Thursday, February 2, 2023, statement signed by the Bank’s Director, Corporate Communications Osita Nwanisobi. He said it is part of moves to ameliorate the plight of Nigerians who are finding it hard to get the new notes.
“In line with this resolve, the Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has directed deposit money banks, DMBs, to commence the payment of the redesigned Naira notes over the counter, subject to a maximum daily payout limit of N20,000,” the statement added.
While admitting the difficulties Nigerians have faced in trying to get money Automated Teller Machines, ATMs, the apex bank reassured of its commitment to making the process seamless.
It also vowed to prosecute racketeers of the new naira notes, saying it is working with relevant agencies to make that happen.
“We have equally noticed the queues at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) across the country and an upward trend in the cases of people stocking and aggregating the newly introduced banknotes they serially obtain from ATMs for reasons best known to them. Also worrisome are the reported cases of unregistered persons and non-bank officials swapping banknotes for members of the public, purportedly on behalf of the CBN,” it warned.
“We wish to state unequivocally that, contrary to the practice of these unpatriotic persons, it is unlawful to sell the Naira, hurl (spray), or stamp on the currency under any circumstance whatsoever.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Section 21(3) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007 (As amended) stipulates that ‘spraying of, dancing or matching on the Naira or any note issued by the Bank during social occasions or otherwise howsoever shall constitute an abuse and defacing of the Naira or such note and shall be punishable under the law by fines or imprisonment or both.’
“Similarly, Section 21(4) states that ‘It shall also be an offence punishable under Sub-section (1) of this section for any person to hawk, sell or otherwise trade in the Naira notes, coins or any other note issued by the Bank.’”
‘It’s illegal to reject old naira before January 31’ – CBN Cautions As Churches, Business Stop Collection
The Zamfara State branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has said rejecting the old Naira notes before the deadline given by the apex bank is illegal and punishable by law.
The CBN, therefore, directed the police to arrest those who refuse to collect the old notes, pointing out that they are still legal tender until after the 31st January 2023 deadline.
Daily Post gathered that the apex bank has officially directed five of the commercial banks in the state to, as a matter of urgency, release new notes, threatening to sanction them if they failed to adhere to the directive.
Commenting on the scarcity of new notes during a sensitization workshop organised by the Association of Point of Sales, POS, operators in the state held on Thursday, January 26, 2023, at Maryam Hall in Gusau, the controller of CBN in the state, Mallam Buhari Abbas, gave reasons why the apex bank introduced the new notes.
Abbas, therefore, urged operators of POS to consider and assist in opening a new bank account for anyone who wants to deposit money and has no account.
“You should do selfless service by not allowing people to lose their money because they don’t have accounts, assist, help those who want to deposit their money”, he added.
According to him, the CBN had introduced new notes to reduce notes being in circulation in the hand of the public.
“More than 80% of Naira notes were in the hands of people, and the CBN has studied this and decided to introduce the policy to reduce the notes at hand, and the policy will harmonize the interest rate,” he said.
He noted that introducing the new CBN policy was to bring more development to the country, saying that the policy, if properly utilized, would boost businesses.
CBN Issues Statement Affirming Emefiele Will Keep Performing Duties As Directed By Buhari
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has announced the resumption of its governor, Godwin Emefiele.
The governor flew out of the country late last year amid reports that the Department of State Services, DSS, was plotting to arrest him for allegedly sponsoring terrorism.
The apex bank, in a statement on Monday, January 16, 2023, said the governor was back with renewed vigour.
“The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has resumed duty after his annual vacation abroad. Mr. Emefiele, who proceeded on leave in December 2022, resumed work today, Monday, January 16, 2023.”
“The Governor resumed with renewed vigour to perform his duty ahead of the first Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the year scheduled for January 23 to 24, 2023.
“Mr. Emefiele remains committed to performing the task before him in line with his oath of office and the policy direction of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“While thanking the public for keeping faith with the Bank, we urge Nigerians to continue to support the policies of the Bank aimed at ensuring a stable financial system and the Nigerian economy in general,” read the statement signed by Osita Nwanisobi, Director, Corporate Communications, CBN.
After failing to appear before the House of Representatives which summoned him over some policies of the bank, CBN had announced that the governor was out of the country.
Emefiele had returned to the country on Monday, and hours after his return, news started circulating that DSS had invaded the bank, seeking to arrest him, but the secret police denied this.
A Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court sitting in Maitama had restrained the DSS from arresting the CBN governor.
The restraining order was issued by M.A. Hassan, the presiding judge.
Source: ChannelsTV
