CBN confused by conflicting interest groups, goes back and forth on old N500, N1000 notes
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has again given another directive countering he earlier one which overruled the earliest on the old N500, N1000.
CBN’s spokesman, Osita Nwanisiobi, on Friday February 17, 2023 directed that individuals with N500, 000 and below can deposit their monies via their respective banks.
This was the same directive that Nwanisiobi said was not true a day earlier. He even said the media, which echoed CBN’s directive, were peddling fake news.
Some Deposit Money Banks on Saturday opened their branches to customers for the purpose of collecting old N500 and N1, 000 notes for deposit into their accounts.
This was contrary to the claim by the CBN that it did not instruct the banks to continue to collect the old notes from depositors.
It was reported on Friday that the CBN had ordered banks to start collecting the old N500 and N1,000 notes from members of the public and pegged the maximum amount they could collect from individuals at N500,000.
The CBN swiftly issued a counter statement signed by Nwanisobi, saying it did not give such a directive.
The banking regulator stated, “The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria has been drawn to some fake and unauthorised messages quoting the CBN as having authorised the Deposit Money Banks to collect the old N500 and N1,000 banknotes.
“For the avoidance of doubt, and in line with Mr President’s broadcast of February 16, 2023, the CBN has been directed to only reissue and re-circulate the old N200 banknotes and this is expected to circulate as legal tender for 60 days up to April 10, 2023.”
A CBN source told Nigerian Sketch that banks have been mandated to receive the money from customers so far as they have generated a code from the apex bank’s portal.
He said CBN’s seeming confusion was because it was answering to different interest groups in the corridor if power.
“The CBN was receiving different orders from different people among those who wield enormous powers in this government. That’s why the bank kept cancelling itself out, going back and forth in a seeming confused manner as you called it.”
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