As the January 31 deadline of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to withdraw three current naira bills from circulation draws close, traders and officials of Kure Market in Minna, Niger State, have been making frantic efforts to meet up.
When CBN officials visited the market to sensitise the traders, yesterday, the Sarkin Kasuwa of the market, Aliyu Mohammed, told The Guardian that the apex bank’s message would go a long way to saving the traders from monetary loss at the expiration of the deadline.
Aliyu assured that the market’s management would leave no stone unturned to convey the message to rural markets through the agents.
“We are 100 per cent in support of the CBN policy to redesign the banknotes. We will do everything within our power to encourage traders to deposit their old notes to their banks or any Point of Sale (PoS) outlet closer to them,” Mohammed assured.
Woman leader in the market, Liyatu Isiaku, lauded the CBN for the enlightenment, and stressed the need for intensive awareness to villages where majority of people are illiterate.
Earlier, the Branch Controller of CBN, Minna, Ademola Mohammed, advised traders in the market to deposit their old banknotes in the bank before the expiration date, which remains sacrosanct.
ALSO, in Gombe State, the CBN, yesterday, sensitised stakeholders, mostly traders, on the new notes.
The sensitisation reportedly held simultaneously in Abeokuta, Lagos, Minna, Kano, Asaba and Abuja.
Addressing the stakeholders at Sabuwar Kasuwa, Gombe Main Market, CBN Controller in Gombe, Shehu Goringo, urged early deposit of old notes, as there won’t be extension of deadline.
Goringo said: “The policy will be enforced by the end of this month. I, therefore, urge everyone to go and replace the old notes, so as not be caught napping.”
He told all in attendance, including PoS operators and microfinance institutions, that there would neither be questions nor limitations to deposit, as commercial banks had been directed to open Monday to Saturday to accommodate busy traders.
“The new notes are abundantly available in banks and the banks will work from Monday to Saturday to ensure easier access,” he said.
He, however, urged them to continue trading with both the old and new naira notes.
The chairman of traders association in the state, Sunusi Abdullahi, pleaded with his members not to reject the old notes till January 31.
The secretary, Adamu Manga, promised to spread the news to other traders.
