CBN frowns at commercial banks hoarding new naira notes

By our reporter 

While sensitizing and monitoring the flow and acceptability of the redesigned naira notes, officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has realized that most commercial banks still dispense old notes both in ATMs and over the counters and promised to deal with them decisively.

To ensure compliance, the CBN team stormed First Bank Ugep, Yakurr LGA, unannounced at about 2:15pm, Tuesday and noticed a large number of customers who trooped in the bank premises to exchange their old naira notes and most of them appealed to CBN to extend the dateline for the exchange of old naira notes.

However, many customers expressed disappointment at the long queue at the ATM and that the ATM could only dispense the maximum of twenty thousand naira, they pleaded for the daily limit to be increased.

To further evaluate the circulation of the redesigned naira notes to the general public, the apex bank officials took to the hinterlands of Cross River State to aggressively sensitize the public.

In Bekwarra, Cross River State, the CBN team took its sensitisation and awareness campaign on the redesigned new naira notes to the palace of His Highness Chief Oniga Stephen, Oti West Clan, Eta Atahere village and major markets in Bekwarra and environs.

In the palace, Chief Oniga Stephen urged the Central Bank to review the January 31 deadline upwards noting that “up till now, so many people including himself haven’t seen the new naira notes in Bekwarra and environs.”

Deputy Director, Banking Supervision Department, Amonia Opusunji, who led other CBN officials to the hinterland hinted that the traditional institutions is critical in the sensitisation of the rural dwellers because they can leverage on the town crier to further spread the news on the naira redesign programme.

The CBN team later stormed popular markets and Motor Parks in Ekori, Obubra and Ogoja where traders and commuters were sensitized about the redesigned naira notes and were admonished to take all their old notes to banks.

Diverse views and opinions prevails as CBN monitoring team vowed to take the new naira notes sensitization to every local government areas in the state.