The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has instructed commercial banks to begin accepting the redesigned naira notes over the counter.
In a statement that was posted on the CBN website on Thursday and signed by Mr. Osita Nwanisobi, Director of Corporate Communications, Emefiele gave the order.
He mentioned that the new rule would solve the problem of long lines at commercial banks all over the country.
“We urge them to exercise patience as the CBN is working assiduously to address the challenge of queues at ATMs,” the governor stated, “while reiterating our commitment to Nigerians to ensure the effective distribution of the newly introduced naira banknotes.”
He claims that in accordance with this decision, the redesigned naira notes can only be paid out over the counter up to a daily limit of N20,000.
Additionally, the governor stated that the bank had observed the activities of individuals selling the newly redesigned banknotes as well as the queues at ATMs with grave concern.
He expressed concern that non-bank officials and unregistered individuals were swapping banknotes for members of the public, allegedly on behalf of the CBN and other organizations.
The head of the CBN also said that it was working with the right security agencies to stop the bad behavior.
In the meantime, PoS agents in Lagos have begun to take advantage of the scarcity of naira notes to charge customers more for every transaction.