Redesigned naira notes unavailable to Nigerians amidst Jan. deadline

The purportedly released redesigned naira notes have yet to be available to Nigerians as of today, ROYAL NEWS has learnt.

The new naira note was launched by Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on December 15, but unveiled 3 weeks earlier by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The CBN Governor had stressed that the new notes would be made available to Nigerians through all Automated Teller Machines (ATM), Deposite Money Banks and other financial institutions immediately after the launching, but unfortunately this is not the case.

Fact-checking by ROYAL NEWS revealed commecial banks and ATMs are either yet to comply with the apex bank directive or do not yet have the notes.

For instance, a bank manager in one of the commercial banks in Ilorin, Kwara State revealed in a chat to our correspondent that they too are yet to lay hold of the new notes.

He added that, “I can assure you that we will start dispensing the new notes once they reach here. But for now, it’s still much of social media gimmick and publicity. Obviously, so much pictures of these notes are online, but you won’t believe if I tell you this is different from reality.”

Also, visits to several ATM galleries in Ilorin, Lagos and Abuja showed that only old notes of N500 and N1000 are still loaded in the machines.

Recall that CBN had limited the redesigning to only N200, N500 and N1000 notes, as the old ones will cease to be legal tender by January 31, 2023.

Several backlashes had followed the resigned notes after Nigerians complained that both old and new notes are the same, only difference is colours. Reacting, the apex bank cautioned citizens to stop complaining but accept and use them first before, stresimg that the importance of currency did not lie in its beauty.

However, bothered with keeping the January deadline, the CBN and banking sector have not ensured prompt and even distribution of the new notes.

Unfortunately, counterfeit new notes are now in circulation even as CBN delays in releasing the new notes.