Posted by The Zamfara State branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has stated that rejecting old Naira notes before the apex bank’s deadline is illegal and punishable by law.
As a result, the CBN has urged police to prosecute anyone who refuse to collect the old notes, pointing out that they are still legal tender until after the deadline of January 31, 2023.
According to the, the top bank has officially asked five of the state’s commercial banks to issue replacement notes as soon as possible, threatening to penalise them if they do not comply.
During a sensitization session organized by the state association of Point of Sales, POS, operators on Thursday at Maryam Hall in Gusau, the controller of CBN in the state, Mallam Buhari Abbas, explained why the apex bank adopted the new notes.
As a result, Abbas advised POS operators to consider and aid in the formation of a new bank account for anyone who wants to deposit money but does not have one.
“You should do selfless service by not allowing people to lose money because they don’t have accounts, and you should aid and help those who wish to deposit money,” he continued.
According to him, the CBN issued fresh notes in order to minimize the number of notes in circulation in the hands of the general public.
“More than 80% of Naira notes were in people’s hands, and the CBN reviewed this and decided to implement the policy to lower the notes at hand, and the policy will harmonise the interest rate,” he said.
He stated that the new CBN policy was implemented to bring greater development to the country, and that the policy, if properly implemented, will help businesses.