The Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has called on the people of the state to continue to accept the old 200, 500 and 1000 Naira notes, following the directives from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
Governor Sule made the appeal shortly after meeting with bank managers at the Government House, in Lafia, the state capital.
He said the meeting was prompted by the statement issued by the CBN, directing banks to accept and disburse the old 500 and 1000 naira notes, in line with the Supreme Court judgment.
He said, “his administration became worried following the losses suffered by farmers in the state, who couldn’t transport their produce to the market because of the prevailing scarcity of money.”
On whether the banks operating in the state have sufficient old 200, 500 and 1000 naira notes to disburse, Governor Sule said; “it’s too early to ascertain that, but people should begin to accept the available old naira notes which are still legal tender till December this year.
“I am using this opportunity to call on the people because people are not sure, they are thinking it’s fake news, now that we have called the banks and the banks have assured us that the instruction came from the Central bank, I am calling on our people in Nasarawa State to continue to accept the old notes because they are still legal tender and valid until December this year,” he noted.
The Governor added that he met the bank managers to find out whether they have sufficient old 500 and 1000 notes to circulate, to alleviate the suffering of the people who mostly spend the night at bank premises.
Mercy Chukwudiebere
