Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Governor of Anambra State, Mr Charles Soludo, has disclosed that commercial banks in the country have been directed to dispense and accept the old Naira notes from customers.
In a Facebook post on Monday morning, Mr Soludo, a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said this information was confirmed to him by the currency apex bank chief, Mr Godwin Emefiele.
According to him, the decision to dispense and accept the controversial old currency notes was reached at the Bankers’ Committee meeting held on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
“Commercial banks have been directed by the central bank to dispense old currency notes and also to receive same as deposits from customers.
“Tellers at commercial banks are to generate the codes for deposits, and there is no limit to the number of times an individual or company can make deposits.
“The Governor of the CBN gave the directive at a Bankers’ Committee meeting held on Sunday, 12th March 2023.
“The Governor, Dr Godwin Emefiele, personally confirmed the above to me during a phone conversation on Sunday night.
“Residents of Anambra are therefore advised to freely accept and transact their businesses with the old currency notes (N200, N500, and N1,000) as well as the new notes.
“Residents should report any bank that refuses to accept deposits of the old notes. Anambra State Government will not only report such a bank to the CBN but will also immediately shut down the defaulting branch,” the post signed and posted on the verified Facebook page of Mr Soludo read.
The central bank, in October 2022, announced that it would redesign the N200, N500, and N1,000 notes to tame rising inflation and counterfeiting.
It then said the old banknotes would cease to be legal tender from January 31, 2023, but this was moved forward to February 10.
However, on February 8, three state governments, Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara, asked the supreme court to stop the implementation of the policy.
On March 3, the apex court granted this request, and the federal government was ordered to allow the old Naira notes to remain legal tender till December 31, 2023.
But since this ruling, some commercial banks have refused to accept the old notes from customers despite dispensing them to them via Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), forcing Nigerians to reject the currency denominations.
Some Nigerians have maintained that they would only accept the notes until President Muhammadu Buhari or the CBN give such a directive.
