CBN Sensitizes Kebbi market traders on redesigned notes, says no swapping of notes

From Ismail Adebayo, Birnin Kebbi

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Thursday sensitized market traders in kebbi State on the redesigned N500, N200 and N1000 notes warning that there would be no swapping of old notes for the new ones. 

The CBN officials led by the Branch Controller, Dantsoho Abdullahi urged the traders to take their old notes to the banks for immediate deposits as window for the deposit of the old notes by the apex bank closes on 31 of January, this year.

While addressing the traders at the Central Market in Birnin Kebbi, the apex bank branch controller said the CBN was mandated by 2007 Act to issue and manage the country's legal tender currency which include the Naira, Kobo and eNaira. "We are here to sensitize the market traders in kebbi.We want them to know that there will be no swapping of the old notes for the new ones. They should take their old notes to banks for deposit.

"We want them to imbibe cashless policy of the CBN to reduce the risks they are exposed to. And to let them know that there are many opportunities that are open to them at the CBN to boost their trading activities".

He stated that the CBN decided to redesign the N500, N1000 and N200 notes because of the large volume of banknotes that were being hoarded by the public, increase in rate of counterfeiting of Naira notes and money laundering. He observed that because of this, 85 percent of the money issued were not in the banks.

He explained that the Naira denominations were redesigned to tackle drug barons, money launders because by redesigning the notes the old ones ceased to exist.