Mr. Kofo Salam-Alada, director of its Legal Services Department, issued the warning.
The apex bank has determined that the previous naira notes would cease to exist on January 31.
Salam-Alaba stated that the CBN is already monitoring banks that continue to dispense obsolete naira banknotes from their ATMs and that this practise must cease immediately.
Wednesday, in Computer Village Market in Lagos, the director who represented CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele spoke during a sensitization programme on the new naira notes.
He stated, "I can tell you today that the CBN issues new notes every day." As we speak, banks are depositing funds with the CBN. Actually, we are begging banks to take money from the Central Bank. We have new naira notes in our vaults and are pleading for banks to take them.
"We discovered that many things are occurring that we need to check, so we halted the withdrawal of new notes over the counter to guarantee that everyone has access to it and that a single chief who is known to the branch manager cannot stroll in and steal all the new notes. This is why we stated it should be in ATMs that cannot discriminate between individuals.
"We also now have monitors patrolling banks. This morning, I have visited a number of automated teller machines and completed the associated reports. We are not organising the populace against the banks because the banks exist to serve you, but you can rest confident that they will serve you now that they know the CBN is pressuring them to do so with the new Naira notes.
In response to market traders' concerns that some individuals are selling the new notes, he stated that anyone caught selling the new notes or any denomination of the naira will be imprisoned.
The CBN has assured that there are more fresh notes available for circulation, reiterating that the January 31, 2023 deadline will not be extended.
(Source: eyewitnessngr.com)
