The Coalition of Civil Society Groups has threatened to shut down commercial banks that refuse to make the new naira notes available to Nigerians.
The group made the threats at a press conference held in Lagos State Tuesday over the disobedience of Deposit Money Banks to the extension of the deadline for the swap of old N200, N500 and N1000 notes.
The PUNCH reports that the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, had, on Sunday, announced the extension of the deadline earlier set for January 31, 2023 to February 10, 2023, with an additional grace period of seven days.
However, the coalition faulted the DMBs, alleging that the banks had been sabotaging the efforts of the apex bank by giving the monies to preferred customers rather than the masses who were in dire need of the new notes.
They further stated that they would monitor bank activities over the deadline extension period to ensure compliance with the CBN guidelines.
“As the conscience of the society, we rise to warn those involved in the sabotage effort to desist and join hands in ensuring that the extension given will be well-utilised. We will not hesitate to shut down any bank henceforth fingered in this sabotage process.
From the time of the introduction of the new naira notes, we have seen saboteurs working against the policy via several collaborative efforts to derail the entire process. The initial deadline of 31st of January 2023 for deposits of the old currency and exchange for new notes have been severally attacked and sabotaged by several classes of people having illegitimate lump sums at home. The change of currency as done by the CBN will no doubt improve on the monetary policies of the Bank aimed at tackling inflation and stabilising the economy.
“While the generality of the people embraced the policy, we are shocked to note our ruling class and a section of the country opposing to it and fighting it shamelessly without iota of patriotism for the country. Of note is the sabotage role played by some of the commercial banks. Hoarding of the new naira notes is now a norm to corrupt bankers and their allies. We will monitor independently activities of these banks to ensure that they comply with the CBN guidelines.”
The group also hailed the efforts of the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, adding that they had also made efforts to ensure sensitisation of the public to the efforts of the apex bank to make the new naira notes available.
They called on Nigerians, especially those in the rural areas, to take the opportunity of the deadline extension to swap their old currencies for the new ones.
“This is also to call on all Nigerians to take opportunity of the new extension date given for the swap of old currency notes for new ones via commercial banks and appointed agents across the country especially rural areas where we don’t have commercial bank activities. We will continue to support good initiatives of the CBN, and we urge Nigerians to join us in ensuring that the new currency policy succeeds for sake of our economy,” the group stated.
