The Central Bank of Nigeria has taken its new naira notes sensitisation to the Abubakar Mahmud Gumi Market, Kaduna State with an appeal to traders to ensure that their old notes are deposited at the commercial banks.
The apex bank noted that there would be no extension of the January 31 deadline within which the old naira notes would cease as legal tender in the country.
The CBN’s Director of Capacity Development, Mohammed Abba, who briefed journalists on the benefits of the new naira notes while sensitising traders at the Central Market Motor Park, Kaduna on Saturday, urged traders to hasten up and deposit their old naira notes in exchange for the new notes.
He also noted that the CBN would sanction errant commercial banks that refused to dispense the new naira notes through their Automated Teller Machines or hoard the money from customers, noting that “now, there is enough money.”
“We hope that by Monday all the banks dispensing old notes in Kaduna will stop doing that,” he added.
The CBN boss also disclosed that the apex Banks would reach out to people in rural areas through traditional rulers so as to sensitise them on the new naira notes and the deadline when the old notes would cease as legal tender.
According to him, the sensitization will be taken to churches, mosques as well as motor parks as part of efforts to encourage the general public to deposit their old naira notes before the deadline.
He said, “We are not just starting the sensitisation exercise today. We have involved the National Orientation Agency and some other media houses since the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele made the announcement of the redesign of the current notes.
“We are just trying to consolidate that effort of the NOA and other agencies now that time is getting closer and people need to be carried along as well. That’s why we felt that it is important that we consolidate what other agencies have been doing.
“For now, I don’t think there is any possibility of changing or extending the January 31 deadline within which the old naira notes will cease as legal tender.
“Our mandate for this trip now is to make sure we follow up with the bank to make sure that there is no infraction or they are not hiding this money or doing any other thing that’s unwanted. The idea of this exercise is for Nigerians.
“We have gone round the commercial banks in Kaduna to ensure that money is made available in Automated Teller Machines and if we find any bank that’s breaking the rule, we will sanction such bank.”
Earlier, the Chairman of the Kaduna Market Development Association, Abdulrahman Mohammed, had thanked the apex bank for sensitising its members to the new monetary policy of the bank.
He urged his members to go to any commercial banks nearest to them to deposit their old naira notes for the new ones in order the beat the deadline, noting that charges have been suspended by the CBN.
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