New Naira: We Will Consider Our Options But Not Change Date, CBN Affirms

In a bid to ensure that the new naira notes are well circulated by the set deadline, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said it would take appropriate measures where necessary to increase money supply in the economy.

This new development was disclosed by the CBN Director and Managing Director, NIRSAL Microfinance Bank, Mr. Abubakar Abdullahi Kure, while conducting on-the-spot checks on some banks to ascertain their level of compliance with the recent apex bank’s directive to dispense the newly redesigned banknotes via ATMs.

Mr. Kure explained that the decision will be made based on the reports given by the different monitoring teams who are inspecting banks’ compliance with ensuring they dispense new notes through their ATMs.

“The monitoring exercise will end by Saturday when we hope to have enough feedback even if it means tinkering with our policies so that the new naira notes can be everywhere, we will do that.”

“Tinkering means whether there will be a need to increase supply or the monitoring evaluation may show that there is a diversion for penalties or whether the banks are hoarding the banknotes deliberately or whether the banks are not even picking it; it could be available and the bank may not be picking it – there could be many issues. So, this monitoring exercise will reveal many things,” he concluded.

Kure’s monitoring team visited two different banks and found out that only one out of their four ATMs was dispensing the new naira notes while others were still dispensing the old currency notes. In their separate responses, the bank managers told the monitoring team that they had not received the new naira stock.

Investors King also confirms that banks in Bauchi metropolis were also monitored by CBN officials to ensure that the ATMs dispensed the new redesigned notes to customers.

Leader of the Bauchi team, Abdulkadir Jibrin, Director, CBN Medical Services, confirmed that ATMs in the state were dispensing the new Naira notes to its customers.

“We monitored all the banks and ATMs in the state and ensured that they dispensed the new notes, this is in line with CBN efforts to ensure that the new notes go round and reach the citizens.”

The Central bank of Nigeria has repeatedly said it will not extend the deadline date for changing of old naira notes to new naira notes from January 31, 2023.