The Central Bank of Nigeria’s plan of ensuring that Nigerians have access to its newly-redesigned naira notes via Automated Teller Machines is becoming a reality as many ATMs around Lagos Island, Lagos State now dispense the new notes.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the CBN on Thursday monitored some banks on Lagos Island in Lagos State.
The checked their ATMs to check the level of compliance with the directive to lodge the newly-redesigned notes in their machines.
The apex bank had given a directive to banks to stop paying the new notes: N1,000, N500 and N200, over the counter so as to enable customers have access to the new notes even when banking halls are closed for business.
Twelve days to the deadline after which the old notes will cease to be legal tender, the apex bank’s team, which visited some banks around Tinubu Square, expressed satisfaction at the level of compliance.
The newly-redesigned N1,000, N500 and N200 bills, which became legal tender on December 15, 2022, will cease to be legal tender from January 31, 2023.
NAN recalls that the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, had said that the Jauary 31 deadline remains sacrosanct.
Emefiele called on commercial banks to approach the apex bank branches across the country to pick up the new naira notes as some of the conditionality for accessing currency notes have been waived in order to accommodate the banks.