Fakoyejo OlalekanThe Chief Executive Officers of Nigerian Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) met amid confusion over deposits of old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes.
Prime Business Africa previously reported on Friday, 17 February 2023, that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) denied authorising banks to resume collection of old Naira notes.
According to the CBN’s corporate communications director, Osita Nwanisobi, the apex bank only approved the disbursement of old N200 notes.
His statement contradicted messages from banks to their customers to deposit old N500 and N1,000 notes at their branches.
The likes of United Bank for Africa (UBA) and First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) had sent emails to customers informing them that the banks are still accepting old Naira notes deposits.
Also, on Saturday, 18 February 2023, some banks opened to accept deposits of old Naira notes, against the statement published by CBN’s corporate communications director.
Following the confusion over depositing old Naira notes, the bank CEOs met on Saturday, Punch reported on Monday, 20 February 2023.
It was reported that they met to discuss how to prevent further attacks from irate customers on their properties within a few days before the Presidential election.
Recall that one of the reasons the CBN decided to redesign the Naira is to prevent vote-buying. It is believed that the old Naira notes have been hoarded by politicians intending to buy votes on Saturday to influence the outcome of the election.
According to a top official, the bank CEOs intend to resume collection of old Naira notes as a solution to prevent the destruction of their properties.
Bank CEOs Meet
“Bank CEOs met over the weekend to find a solution to the crisis. You can see that some banks collected old notes deposits on Saturday.
“The idea is to get banks to resume old notes collection from customers on Monday (today). This will prevent further attacks on bank officials and bank property this week.
“This is the last week before the polls, so the CBN and banks want to ensure there is no tension,” a top official, with knowledge about the meeting over the weekend, was quoted.
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