The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has vowed to sanction commercial banks dispensing old naira notes ahead of the January 31 deadline.

Godwin Emefiele, the CBN governor, stated this on Thursday during a sensitisation campaign on the redesigned Naira notes at Alamis Market in Lafia, Nasarawa.

Represented by Atiku Mohammed-Nasir, CBN’s director of security service, Mr Emefiele urged the traders and residents of the state to embrace the redesigned notes for their transactions.

He reminded them that the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes would cease to be legal tender on January 31.

“Henceforth, When you go to any commercial bank, and you are issued the old N200, N500 and N1,000 do not collect (them) because they would become useless from January 31,” the CBN boss stated. “We will henceforth sanction any bank found guilty of dispensing the old naira notes at ATMs or over the counters to customers.”

He added, “The CBN has supplied adequate new Naira notes to the various commercial banks. If any bank issues you old naira notes, report such bank to the CBN for appropriate action.”

The CBN governor insisted that there would be no extension of the January 31 deadline for the termination of the old notes despite appeals for an extension by the traders.

Therefore, he urged traders to make haste and change their monies before the deadline.

Mr Emefiele encouraged traders and other residents to embrace e-banking for their transactions, saying the policy would go a long way to address insecurity and improve the nation’s economy.

Also speaking, Shehu Yakubu, CBN’s Lafia branch controller, advised the traders and other stakeholders to take the redesigned naira notes policy seriously by changing their old notes before the deadline.

Mr Yakubu noted that failure to adhere to the instruction, the old notes starched in homes and other places outside the banks would no longer be acceptable and become like toilet tissue paper.

The CBN team also visited some commercial banks in Lafia to ascertain compliance with its directive on dispensing new naira notes through the automated teller machines (ATM). 

(NAN)