CBN releases sufficient old naira notes for recirculation

…moves against workers protest

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed commercial banks to come for the bulk of old naira notes they earlier deposited with the apex bank.

It is expected that before the end of the week, the banks would be awash with the old notes to be released to customers.

This is coming on a day the Nigeria Labour Congress has mobilised public sector workers to picket and occupy CBN offices at the various states’ headquarters and Abuja.

The NLC’s action is in protest against the biting cash scarcity.

Weeks after the Supreme Court gave a judgement that the old naira notes of N1000 and N500 should remain as legal tender, the notes are still scarce.

Large queues of customers still flood banks daily waiting to withdraw money but they are hardly attended to.

Few automated teller machines are dispensing cash even after the CBN said it would comply with the Supreme Court’s order. And those dispensing release a maximum of N5,000 to N10,000 to individuals.

Already, the commercial banks had been contacted to collect the old notes they returned to the Central Bank for recirculation.