The Central Bank of Nigeria says it has not directed commercial banks to dispense and accept the deposit of old Naira notes amid the raging currency crisis that is dwindling economic activities across the country.
The CBN, which had been silence 10 days after the Supreme Court ruling validating the old naira notes reacted to the statement of governor of Anambra state, Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo on Monday.
Soludo had on Monday claimed that the CBN has asked commercial banks to dispense and accept old naira notes as deposits.
He explained that the Governor of CBN, Godwin Emefiele gave the directive at a Banker’s Committee meeting on Sunday.
Reacting to Soludo statement, Dr Isa Abdulmumin, Acting Director of Corporate Communication CBN, told DAILY POST on Monday, that there is no statement from the apex bank telling commercial banks to dispense and accept the old N500 and N1000 notes from Nigerians.
He said, “Governor Charles Soludo’s statement emanates from him, not the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“The Central Bank has not issued any statement directing banks on a collection of old naira notes. I am sure sometime in the future; the bank will issue a statement”.
What Soludo said:
Soludo in a statement said, “Commercial banks have been directed by the Central Bank to dispense old currency notes and also to receive the same deposits from customers. Tellers at commercial banks are to generate the codes for deposits, and there is no limit to the number of times an individual or company can make deposits.
“The Governor of the CBN gave the directive at a Bankers’ Committee meeting held on Sunday, 12th March 2023. The Governor, Dr Godwin Emefiele, personally confirmed the above to me during a phone conversation on Sunday night. Residents of Anambra are therefore advised to freely accept and transact their businesses with the old currency notes (N200, N500; and N1,000) and the new notes”, the statement contained.
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.
