Fakoyejo OlalekanThe distribution of the new Naira notes has taken a new turn as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) delivers the cash door-to-door in Kano State.
CBN representatives in Kibiya, Rano, and Tundun Wada local government areas in Kano State went to residents’ doorsteps to directly hand the cash to them.
The central bank targeted residents in rural areas with no convenient roads or banking infrastructure to ease their access to the newly redesigned Naira notes.
“In order for them to benefit from exchanging their old naira notes for the new naira note, CBN has made provision for cash to be disbursed to rural places where there are no convenient roads or banking infrastructure,” Business Day quoted a representative of the CBN.
The door-to-door distribution system is expected to continue, as the financial regulator intends to extend its doorstep approach to other rural areas.
Prior to the door-to-door distribution by the CBN, the apex bank had initiated a cash swap programme in rural areas to ease deposits of old N200, N500 and N1,000 for the redesigned banknotes.
The cash swap programme was initiated in partnership with selected Point of Sale (PoS) operators, Super Agents and Mobile Money Operators (MMOs) operating outside Lagos and Abuja, to ensure rural residents that are underbanked meet the February 10, 2023, deadline.
Also, five banks; United Bank for Africa (UBA), Zenith Bank, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Holdings, and Access Bank Plc, were involved in the cash swap programme.
The new Naira notes have been scarce, leading to attacks on 17 banks and a loss of N5 billion for the financial institutions. Also, bank workers have been attacked during the protests by customers.
Due to the scarcity of Naira notes, the governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, threatened to revoke the licenses of banks and some businesses that reject the old Naira notes.
Ganduje stated: “This non-acceptance by some selfish individuals is further worsening the already tensed situation exacerbated by the non-availability of the new naira notes.”
“Business and economic activities are seriously affected by the naira redesign and unfortunately some self-centered individuals are cashing on the situation to cause further hardships on the people by not accepting the old naira notes during transactions.
“The people have suffered enough untold hardship and, therefore, the state government will not fold its arms and allow few selfish elements in our midst to worsen the situation,” The governor added.
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