Business activities were temporarily slowed down at the Jalingo main market on Saturday as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) took its enlightenment campaign to the traders to enlighten the people on the importance of depositing their old Naira notes in banks on or before January 31, 2023.
Led by the Director of Financial System and Strategy of the bank, Malam Ibrahim Hassan, it urged those who are still in possession of the notes to, as a matter of urgency, deposit them in banks as there would be no extension of the January deadline.
Stressing that the deadline for the deposition of the notes will not be extended, Hassan told the business community, officials of commercial banks and Points Of Sale (POS) operators, who were present in the market, that there was no limit to the amount of money to be deposited by individuals, adding that no charges are attached.
He said the decision to redesign the notes was not targeted at any group of individuals.
“Data has shown a large volume of old banknotes stored at homes by the public has led to a shortage of clean and fit notes,” he said, adding that the new notes will check the spread of counterfeit notes and strengthen the economy as well as reduce expenditure on cash management.
He also said the naira was due for redesign as the global standard for redesigning is five to eight years.
Aligning his weight to that of Hassan, Malam Ahmed Mustapha of the currency unit of the CBN told the people that the new notes met all the required standards and should be accepted for transactions by all.