CBN gives banks waiver to pick new Naira notes

The Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has called on commercial banks to approach the apex bank branches across the country to pick up the new Naira notes. Emefiele made the call when the apex bank took its sensitisation tour on the adoption of the newly redesigned Naira notes to Computer Village, Ikeja, on Wednesday in Lagos. He said that the new Naira notes were in the apex bank’s vaults awaiting pick up by the commercial banks. “We have been calling upon the banks to approach the Central Bank of Nigeria across the country to come and pick up the new notes; we have even waived some of the conditionality for accessing currency notes in order to accommodate the banks.

“The banks were being given slots before, but now the Central Bank of Nigeria is bending over backward to accommodate the demands of the banks in order to service them, so that they can service you and so that everybody will have access to the new Naira notes,” Emefiele said. Emefiele, who was represented by Mr Kofo Salam-Alada, Director, Legal Services Department, CBN, said the apex bank was seriously working to ensure that the new notes permeated everywhere. He said that the apex bank was currently going round commercial banks to monitor banks and their Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) to ensure that they stopped paying customers the new Naira notes over the counter but via the ATMs.

Emefiele said: “part of what we are doing is that we have monitors going around the banks now, I have been to some ATMs this morning and I’ve lodged a report and I’ve spoken to the management of the various banks.” He also said that penalties await any bank which failed to come and pick up the new notes and failure to lodge money into their ATM machines. He assured the marketers that the experiences they were having would soon be sorted out.

The banks were being given slots before, but now the Central Bank of Nigeria is bending over backward to accommodate the demands of the banks in order to service them, so that they can service you and so that everybody will have access to the new Naira notes. He reiterated that the January 31 deadline for the submission of the old Naira notes was sacrosanct, urging people to go and deposit their old notes and not to be caught unawares. He urged people to also make use of the eNaira and other electronic channels to transact their banking business, adding that the apex bank was already taking steps to increase the number of merchants to good position where the eNaira would become acceptable. The President of the Coalition of Associations in Computer Village, Mr Timmy David, urged the CBN to enforce their mandate by ensuring that the new notes were accessible before the deadline.

“There should be no banks that should not be given the new naira notes from the ATMs, all ATMs should load the new naira notes. As we are giving the old notes, we should be able to take back the new notes; this will enable people to transact their day to day business. If the machines are not dispensing the new notes, then it will not circulate,’’ he said. Emefiele and his team visited the Palace of the Olu of Ikeja Land, and was received by the Olukosi of Ikeja Land, Chief Lateef Oluseyi, and briefed him on the apex bank’s new policies and its decision to change the old 1,000, 500 and 200 denominations. He also washed the new N1000 note with water to clear the doubts of some sections of society about the authenticity of the new notes. (NAN)