The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN has sensitised traders in Kaduna State on the redesigned naira notes, while also encouraging them to change their old notes.
The sensitisation exercise which was done at the Abubakar Mahmud Gumi market motor park, Kaduna was also held simultaneously at various locations across the country recently.
Speaking to newsmen during the exercise, the Director, Capacity Development Department, CBN, Mohammed Abba urged Nigerians to change their old notes, saying that there was no going back on the January 31 deadline.
According to him, they have also involved the National Orientation Agency, NBA and some other media houses to help with the sensitisation immediately the CBN governor made the announcement.
He says, “We are just trying to consolidate that effort now. The deadline is getting closer and people need to be carried along”.
He therefore urged traders to visit their banks, deposit the old notes and get the new ones so that at the end of the month, their monies will not become useless.
Abba further assured that the CBN was working assiduously to ensure that the banks in Kaduna stop dispensing the old naira notes.
“We are going round the banks to ensure that new notes are available in their Automated Teller Machines (ATM) and if we find any bank that is breaking this rule, we will put sanctions on them. We have enough money in the Central Bank,” he said.
He assured residents that all those banks that are dispensing old notes will stop soon.
Abba also said that CBN would reach out to people in rural areas through their traditional rulers so as to sensitise them on the new notes and deadline.
Confidence Okwuchi
