Change of old Naira notes: CBN reverses policy as angry crowds take over its Lagos branch ...Says banks should now collect old notes

The new .notes and Gov. of CBN, Emefiele

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is though bent on maintaining its stance that the old currencies of N1000 and N500 were no more legal tenders but it has soft pedaled on how to ease the old currencies out of public spending.  

CBN has now ordered banks to start collecting the old N500 and N1,000 notes from the public.

The apex bank however pegged the maximum amount banks could collect at N500,000 only but insisted that the old currencies were no more legal tender.

CBN may have taken this new step following uproars in some parts of the country especially Lagos over the hardships people are facing to exchange the old Naira notes for the newly redesigned ones.

Reports reaching THE STATEPOST confirmed that a large crowd besieged office of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in Marina, Lagos State this afternoon to exchange their old currencies for the new ones.

A source from a commercial bank said the CBN ordered banks to collect the monies instead of going to the CBN office following difficulties encountered in getting access to the bank.

A CBN official said, “Go to your bank but fill out the form before you go. Go with the reference code you generate. With your code, banks will collect it from you. But if it is more than 500,000, you will go to the CBN and deposit it.”

Earlier, the CBN opened a portal on its website and made it mandatory for those willing to return old notes to fill and generate a code.

On Thursday, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, ordered the banks to make the old N200 notes available to Nigerians.

This was after the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), said the old N200 note would be legal tender till April 10, 2023, while urging Nigerians to deposit their old N500 and 1000 notes with the CBN.

Meanwhile, it is suspected that protests which had been rocking different states over the scarcity of the new naira notes made the CBN order banks to collect higher denominations after meeting with banks’ leaders.

There was a large crowd at the office of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in Marina, Lagos State this afternoon.

The crowd consists of persons trying to swap old currencies in line with the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari.