By Emem Idio, Yenagoa

THE Central Bank of Nigeria,CBN, has advised traders and residents of Bayelsa State to reject old notes from banks, stressing that they have the right to demand to be issued with the new redesigned Naira notes.

The Controller, CBN Yenagoa branch, Mr. Francis Asuquo, stated this at the Swali Ultra Modern Market, Yenagoa on Friday, as part of the sensitization of members of the public on the new redesigned Naira notes.

Asuquo, who urged the traders to embrace the new redesigned notes and ensure they beat the January 31 deadline for the return of old notes, explained that the currency redesign is well timed, as it seeks to discourage counterfeiting, money laundry, inflation, and to enable the control of money in circulation.

He said: “Associated with this policy is the need to move from cash base to cashless form of payment to through other payment channels which are available, accessible and available to use. So let us open bank accounts, have our BVN and identify the features and benefits of the new redesigned currency notes.

“The change in our currency design is well timed as it seeks to discourage counterfeiting, money laundry, inflation, and to enable the control of money in circulation.”

In her remark, an official of the Swali Ultra Modern Market, Mrs Mildred Egele commended the CBN for the sensitization, and assured the CBN that traders in the market will adhere to the directives of the CBN.

Meanwhile, some officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, on Thursday visited commercial banks in Yenagoa the Bayelsa State capital to monitor and supervise compliance with the issuance of the new notes to customers.

In some of the banks visited it was observed that they were still dispensing the old notes in their Automated Teller Machines, ATM, while a few have fully complied with dispensing the new redesigned notes.

Addressing newsmen after the end of the monitoring exercise, the head of one of the monitoring teams and Deputy Director, Monetary Policy Department of CBN, Dr. David Omoreghe, explained that the compliance monitoring is a senior management decision that the entire branches of different banks across the nation be supervised and monitored to see that they comply with the new policy of the redesign of the Naira.

According to Omoreghe, the monitoring of banks compliance became necessary as the management of the CBN insists that January 31 remains the cutoff date for the return of the old notes.