Professor Charles Soludo, the governor of Anambra State and a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has revealed that the CBN has finally ordered commercial banks to dispense old currency notes and to also accept same as deposits from customers.
The Quest Times had reported how some commercial banks commenced payment of the old naira notes last week.
The Anambra Governor stated that tellers at commercial banks will generate deposit codes, and there is no limit to the number of times an individual or company can make deposits.
Soludo stated that the CBN Governor issued the directive at a Bankers’ Committee meeting on March 12, 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) as well as the new notes,” Soludo noted.
He called on residents to report any bank that refuses to accept deposits of the old notes.
“Anambra State Government will not only report such a bank to the CBN, but will also immediately shut down the defaulting branch.”
Efforts to get the reaction of CBN to Soludo’s claim proved abortive as the spokesman, Isa Abdulmumin, could not be reached.
Sources at the apex bank said that there have been several virtual meetings between Emefiele and the bank chiefs leading up to Sunday evening and there are strong indications that the news is true.
The CBN has at the time of this story has not debunked the claim of Governor Soludo.