The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has vowed to sanction commercial banks dispensing old naira notes ahead of the January 31 deadline.
Dr Abdullahi Abubakar Kure, a director at the CBN and serving Managing Director of NIRSAL Microfinance Bank gave this warning in Abuja when he led a team of CBN officials on an unscheduled visit to banks in Abuja.
The apex bank directed all banks to dispense only new notes from their ATMs on Monday.
Meanwhile, the development came after the team withdrew old cash from the ATMs at a Guaranty Trust Bank on Adetokunbo Ademola Wuse 2 Abuja.
However, an Access Bank ATM also on Adetokunbo Ademola dispensed the new naira notes.
After the exercise, Kure announced that the CBN would query banks found hoarding and or diverting the new notes and dispensing old cash.
He said:
“CBN has enough stock of cash to meet the requests of banks but a final decision will be taken after the unscheduled visits end on Friday.”
It would hence go through its “record to ascertain the number of new notes given to banks found to be dispensing old notes via ATM. Where we detect any infractions, such banks would be sanctioned.”
The minister then urged Nigerians to return old notes in their possession following established channels in return for the new ones as the deadline approaches.
The apex bank has given January 31 2023 as the deadline for old notes to cease being legal tenders.
