Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it has been begging commercial banks to pick up the new Naira notes.

The apex bank had redesigned N200, N500, and N1000 notes, saying the old ones will cease to be legal tender by January 31.

However, there have been concerns over this as the new notes are scarce less than two weeks to the deadline.

To check the scarcity, the CBN introduced different measures, including banning over the counter payment with the new notes.

The apex bank had directed commercial banks to fill their ATMs with the new note but yet the problem persisted.

At a sensitization programme in Lagos, Kofo Salam-Alada, Head of legal department of the apex bank, said the CBN will go tough on banks that continue to fill their ATM machines with old naira notes as the deadline to phase out the notes nears.

He said, “I can tell you today that the CBN on a daily basis issues new notes. As we speak, banks are with the CBN taking money. We are actually begging banks to come and take money from the Central Bank. We have these new naira notes in our vaults and we are begging banks to come and take it.

“We found out that a lot of things are happening that we need to checkmate, so we stopped withdrawal of new notes over the counter to ensure that everyone can have access to it and not one chief who is known to the manager, walks in, and carts away all the new notes in a particular branch. That is why we said it should be in the ATMs which cannot distinguish people.

“We also have monitors going around banks now. I have been to some ATMs this morning and I have done the reports. We are not mobilising the masses against the banks because the banks are there to serve you, but be rest assured that they will serve you now that they know that the CBN is on them to serve you with the new naira notes.”

Daily Trust