…As Apex Bank goes tough against scarcity of new legal tender
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Henceforth, deposit money banks which refuse to collect the redesigned naira notes for circulation ahead of the January 31, 2023 deadline will draw the ire of the Central Bank of Nigeria, as the apex bank has decided to fine them N1m per day for each box of new naira notes they refused to pick up.
The cumulative number of days in default may also be considered, to serve as deterrent.
This much was revealed by the apex bank on Friday during a sensitisation programme organised for the Osun market women at Ayegbaju market to acquaint them with the new naira notes of N200, N500 and N1000.
Speaking at the event, the Deputy Director, Research, CBN, Adeleke Adelokun, disclosed that CBN had printed enough new naira notes, expressing dismay that the purported scarcity being experienced was sequel to banks’ refusal to pick them up.
According to Adelokun, time has come for the apex bank to wield the big stick, with a view to ensuring its directives do not fall on bare floor, hence the need to issue the fine.
Recall that the new redesigned naira notes were introduced on December 15, 2022, with over a month’s grace to make them generally available ahead of the January 31, 2023 deadline , but the deposit money banks prefer to disburse the old notes for reasons best known to them.
The artificial scarcity created by the DMBs may have created the lacuna which has given rise to the counterfeited notes to be more available, even as many citizens have not seen or touched the genuine notes./SHARE THIS