The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has vowed to prosecute Point-of-Sales (PoS) operators who collect exorbitant charges for transactions.
The CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele said this on Tuesday while meeting with members of the diplomatic corps.
PoS operators have resorted to charging between N1,000 to N2,000 for a N10,000 withdrawal, following the cash crunch caused by the CBN’s naira redesign policy.
Emefiele, who acknowledged the inconveniences caused by the naira redesign policy, promised to prosecute PoS operators who charge above the stipulated amount.
He insisted that there’s no going back on the February 10th deadline, despite the Supreme Court order last week Wednesday
Read also: Old Naira notes no more legal tender – CBN declares
This comes as several businesses and banks across the country including Access Bank, UBA, Zenith Bank, FCMB amongst others started rejecting the old notes from Monday.
Recall that the apex bank had set January 31 deadline for the use of old notes as legal tender and deposit to financial institutions but later shifted it to February 10.
However, the scarcity of the new notes and continued issuance of the old notes by banks to their customers has made the deadline unattainable.
Following the hardship and the slowing of economic activities across the country caused by the CBN policy, Kogi, Kaduna and Zamfara States approached the Supreme Court, seeking that the CBN be restrained from going ahead with the deadline.
The Court answered their prayer and adjourned the case till February 15. While the Federal Government said it would abide by the Supreme Court order, the Central Bank had been silent until yesterday when the Branch Controller of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Bauchi, Haladu Idris Andaza declared that the old Naira Notes of N200, N500 and N1,000 have ceased to be legal tender in Nigeria since the 10th of February, 2023.
CBN’s silence on the issue has thrown Nigerians into confusion as the old notes are now widely rejected but accepted by some.
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.
