CBN ORDERS OVER-THE-COUNTER WITHDRAWAL OF NEW NAIRA NOTES

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has ordered commercial banks to start issuing the new naira notes over the counter. Emefiele issued the instruction in a statement that was published on the CBN website on Thursday and was signed by Mr. Osita Nwanisobi, Director of Corporate Communications.

He mentioned that the new regulation would tackle the problem of queues at different commercial banks around the nation.

The governor said, “while reiterating our commitment to Nigerians to ensure the effective distribution of the newly introduced naira banknotes, we urge them to exercise patience as the CBN is working assiduously to address the challenge of queues at ATMs.”

He claims that, in accordance with this decision, a daily payout cap of N20,000 will apply to the start of the payment of the redesigned naira notes over the counter. The governor added that the bank has been extremely concerned about the activities of those selling the newly redesigned banknotes and the queues at ATMs (ATMs).

He expressed concern that unregistered individuals and non-bank officials had been swapping cash for members of the public, ostensibly on behalf of the CBN and other organizations. The head of CBN further mentioned that the organization was working with the appropriate security agencies to stop the unpatriotic conduct.

Point of Sale (PoS) agents in Lagos, however, have started to demand additional fees for each transaction that clients make by taking advantage of the scarcity of naira notes.

According to information gathered by ValidViewNetwork the majority of the PoS agents in the various part of Lagos had upped their fees from 0.02 to 10% on every N5,000, and from 0.03 to 10% on transactions between N5,000 and N10,000.

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According to ValidViewNetwork investigations, most clients were spotted paying the fees since they were in desperate need of money. In contrast to the few who had overcharged them, some of the agents said that the rise in fees was caused by banks’ lack of cash (both old and new notes).

The operators further stated that the fee increase was intended to make up for the man hours lost due to the lengthy lines at banks.

For Nigerians to have access to the new naira notes, the CBN had instructed banks to load their ATMs with them.

After being revealed by President Muhammadu Buhari on November 23, 2022 in Abuja, the new naira notes—which include the denominations of N200, N500, and N1000—became legal tender on December 15, 2022.

The CBN had set a deadline of January 31 for the collection of old naira notes, but later increased it to February 10. Emefiele stated that the extension was made to give Nigerians who had earned and trapped naira legally the chance to deposit their money for exchange.