AS the January 31st naira note deadline approaches, some commercial banks have extended their working days to include Saturday and Sunday – January 28, and January 29, to allow more withdrawal of the new naira notes as well as the deposit of the old.
News Point Nigeria reports that, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has instructed commercial banks in the country to work on Saturdays till Jan. 31, 2023, to enable bank customers return old naira notes for new ones.
Mr Osita Nwasinobi, the Director, Corporate Communications Department of the apex bank, stated this at the CBN fair in Ilorin on Thursday.
However, residents of Port Harcourt have expressed their worry as ATM machines of banks within the metropolis were unable to dispense the new notes despite just 72 hours to the deadline.
Some residents, who spoke to News Point Nigeria expressed dismay about the poor circulation of the new notes, others claim that they are yet to see the new naira notes, a few others accused the banks of hoarding the new notes for their wealthy customers.
Speaking in an interview with News Point Nigeria, an aggrieved customer in Access Bank, Olu Obasanjo Road, Port Harcourt, Ozioma, claimed to have been at the ATM queue but the machine wasn’t dispensing cash, while the over-the-counter payments was in old notes.
” I have been here since past 8am and till now the ATM has not been able to dispense money. I went into the banking hall and was told I will paid in old note because there was no new note in the branch.”
Recall, as part of measures to deepen new note circulation, the CBN ordered banks to load their ATMs with the new notes and threatened to sanction erring banks.
The CBN also recently directed commercial banks to halt over-the-counter payment of the old notes and load their Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) with the redesigned naira notes to boost circulation.
