CBN has advised Nigerians to visit money agents and PoS operators to swap their naira notes easily.
NewsOnline reports that ahead of the January 31, 2023 dateline for the circulation of old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes, the Central Bank of Nigeria, has urged Nigerians to visit money agents and Point of Sales (PoS) operators to swap their naira notes easily.
The apex bank urged Nigerians not to panic but to do the needful instead of going to commercial banks to wait for long queues all day at the banking hall.
It also frowned at rejecting the old notes ahead of the due date of February 1, 2023, describing those rejecting them now as saboteurs.
Speaking in Yola, Adamawa State capital earlier, CBN Director of Internal Audit Department, Lydia Alfa, said the apex bank had a robust strategy in place to ensure the successful mopping up of the old notes into its coffers.
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Alfa was in the state for a compliance drive. Addressing journalists while carrying out her official assignment, Alfa berated those rejecting the old notes ahead of the due date, describing such persons as saboteurs.
She said: “Let me start by saying that the bank has made it clear that those three denominations would cease to be legal tenders after the 31st of January this year. What I mean is that they’ll continue to be legal tenders; they’ll continue to be expendable and to be used as a medium of exchange.
“Therefore, anyone saying I’ll not accept the old design notes is contravening in one way or the other. As far as today is concerned, the old N1,000, N500 and old N200 notes are still legal tenders and should be accepted by the public.
“Now, where there are no physical banks, you obviously have the super agent; they’re like agent-banker, they’re also representatives in one form or the other to enable easy payment or transaction,” The PUNCH quoted Alfa saying.
According to her, the CBN has made provisions for the super-agents to get the new notes and visit them to get the new currencies.
Alfa assured that the CBN had mandated banks to give PoS operators and agents across the 21 local government areas of Adamawa State enough new notes.
The CBN Yola Branch Controller, Sanusi Sah, who also addressed journalists, assured depositors that there was enough time for them to have the desired exchange.
According to him, both CBN and all commercial banks had been mandated to work on Saturdays to cater to customers’ needs.
