Economy
THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Saturday took its sensitisation on the redesigned Naira notes to the Lafia Modern market and the palace of the Emir of Lafia in Nasarawa State.
The apex bank’s team led by the Director, Security Services, Alh. Atiku Muhammed-Nasir, said the visit to the palace was to pay homage to the Emir and for him help encourage his subjects to embrace the new banknotes.
Muhammed-Nasir explained that the redesigning of the N200, N500 and N1,000 denominations was meant to address insecurity, inflation, counterfeiting among other benefits.
He said that the Jan. 31 deadline given for the old notes to cease as legal tender remain sacrosanct and urged all citizens to deposit the old notes in commercial banks before the deadline.
The director, therefore, appealed to the Emir to help enlighten his subject on the need to embrace the policy in their best interest.
Responding, Retired Justice Sidi Bage, the Emir of Lafia, thanked CBN for the visit and lauded the initiative of redesigning banknotes and encouraging electronic banking.
The royal father expressed delight with the development geared towards putting the nation at par with developed nations in terms of payment system and financial transactions.
Bage, who is the Chairman, Nasarawa State Traditional Council of Chiefs, promised to call for a meeting of the council to enable the CBN to come and enlighten them on the policy for onward passage to the various communities.
At the Lafia Modern market, the CBN director advised the traders to deposits their old Naira notes in the banks in order to avoid losing them as they would become useless after Jan. 31.
He encouraged those without bank accounts to open one and also embrace other payment platforms aside cash, saying it would ease their transactions.
The director said that the CBN was working out modalities to engage super agents with a view to address issues around currency change for those with little amounts.
On his part, Shehu Yakubu, CBN Lafia Branch Controller, said the new banks notes were available in all commercial banks for customers to access through the Automated Teller Machines (ATM).
Yakubu urged the traders to report any bank dispensing old notes to the CBN for appropriate sanction.
Dr Buba Umar, General Manager of the Lafia Modern market, thanked the CBN for the sensitisation visit to the market.
He assured that the traders associations would cooperate with the bank by ensuring that all members were properly educated on the need to accept the new notes and embrace the new banking policy.(NAN)
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Tags: Buba Umar CBN Justice Sidi Bage Muhammed-Nasir
