CBN mandates that banks should pay new notes to customers. It has been decided by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to begin issuing fresh Naira notes to clients over the counter (OTC). The country’s central bank said the decision was made to shorten wait times at ATMs throughout the land.
Last Thursday in Abuja, CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele issued the order.
According to a statement released by CBN Director of Corporate Communication Osita Nwanisobi, banks are only allowed to hand out N20,000 fresh notes to people daily at the teller window.
According to the announcement, “The Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has authorized Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to initiate the payment of the new Naira notes over the desk, subject to a daily maximum payout restriction of N20,000.”
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has encouraged Nigerians “to exhibit tolerance as the CBN is working hard to solve the problem of lineups at ATMs” to guarantee the development and share of the recently launched naira banknotes.
Nwanisiobi expressed his displeasure with the growing number of persons “stocking and accumulating the newly issued banknotes” due to the long lines at ATMs around the nation.
“Seriously acquire cash from ATMs machines for reasons unknown to them,” he added of these folks. Reports have also surfaced of unlicensed individuals and people who are not bank personnel exchanging banknotes for the general public in the name of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Suggesting that Nigerians “embrace and use alternate payment routes for their transactions,” the CBN official urged the populace to do so.
The Central Bank of Nigeria and other security authorities are taking steps to crack down on revelers who mishandle Naira. Nwanisiobi noted in the same announcement that “it is forbidden to trade the Naira, fling (spray), or write on the money under any condition whatsoever,” calling those who do so “unpatriotic individuals.”
Those “who sell the newly updated banknotes and those who blatantly misuse the legal tender by flinging wads of Naira banknotes in the air and stomping on the money at social gatherings” were singled out by the CBN as targets of its disapproval.
Nwanisiobi said, “the CBN is engaging with the Nigerian Military, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Economic and Fiscal Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Nigerian Financial Reporting Unit (NFIU) to confront the unpatriotic practice.”
He sternly warned all Nigerians “to stop from insulting the Naira or chance being detained by law enforcement agents,” with special emphasis on those attending social events like birthdays, marriages, and funerals.
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He claims that the Naira is the country’s official currency and represents patriotic identity. This being the case, let’s treat it with the attention it deserves.
To sell or exchange Naira notes or coins or any note issued by the Bank is also a crime under Section 21(4), which reads, “It will also be an offense punished by Post (1) of this section.”