Banks issue old notes in Abuja, customers lament rejection

Commercial banks in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja have started issuing the old Naira notes to customers.

Checks at some banks in Abuja on Wednesday, March 8, revealed that customers thronged banks to collect the notes while some rejected them.

Mr. Ifeanyi Udenna, a customer who collected the old N1,000 notes from First Bank, said he accepted the old notes because it was issued to him by a commercial bank.

“I believe that because the money is coming from a commercial bank, the information will be authentic.

“Although we have not heard any information from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) about the old notes, the banks cannot be acting on their own,” he said.

Another customer, Mrs. Eugenia Atah, said that although she collected the old notes from her bank, traders were rejecting the notes.

“I collected N20,000 of the old N1,000 notes from my bank but when I went to the market, they refused to collect it.

“I also went to a restaurant to have lunch but the woman in charge rejected it.

“This is frustrating because I thought that the issuance of the old notes will reduce our suffering,” she said.

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Another customer, Mr. Chris Idoko appealed to the CBN to make their stand known to the public on the old naira notes.

“I went to my bank and they were giving customers old notes but I refused to collect because people have not started spending it.

“Nobody collects these old notes in the market,” he said.

The CBN is yet to respond to the apex court judgement on the old notes.

The apex court had nullified the ban on use of the old N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes, saying the notes still remained legal tender until December 31.

The Star