Fakoyejo OlalekanThe Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has responded to the request made by an activist lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), to provide details of the disbursement of the new N200, N500 and N1,000 notes.
Falana had written to the central bank, in a letter dated February 16, 2023, demanding for the details amid allegations that politicians were mopping the redesigned currencies from commercial banks.
Prime Business Africa had reported that the financial regulator initially directed Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to stop providing the new cash over the counter.
CBN said dispensing the redesigned banknotes over the counter will not ensure proper circulation of the currencies as the central bank phases out the old Naira notes.
The apex bank directed banks to dispense the new Naira notes via Auto Teller Machines (ATMs) that don’t disburse based on personality.
“As from today, the CBN will be sanctioning any commercial bank that is not dispensing new notes to the public.
“We will be visiting commercial banks to ensure that they give out the new naira notes to the public to do their businesses. We will make sure that the new notes made available to banks are not diverted to politicians only,” the CBN’s Awka-Anambra State Branch Controller, Benedict Maduagwu, said two months ago.
With the CBN directive reversed, banks are now dispensing the new cash via ATM and over the counter, but scarcity still persists, as banks complained that CBN is not providing sufficient currencies, while the central bank accuses DMBs of not coming to take the new Naira notes and also making it available to politicians.
Following Falana’s letter to the CBN, the apex bank agreed to make the disbursement details available to the lawyer based on the Freedom of Information Act 2011.
“We write to acknowledge your letter dated the 16th of February, 2023 on the above matter and wish to inform you that the information being sought, where available, will be communicated to you in due course,” CBN said in a letter dated 24 February 2023, referencing CSD/FOICON/FFC/001/033, the Nation reported on Thursday, 2 March 2023.
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