First Bank Issued Me Old Naira Notes – Lawyer Says CBN Cash Policy Has Failed

Public interest lawyer, Barrister Frank Tietie, has expressed disappointment at the monetary policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria as it relates to its redesigned naira notes policy.

The financial regulator had directed that old notes of N1000, N500, and N200 cease to be legal tender from January 31, advising the general public to return it to the banks in exchange for the new ones.

The CBN’s Director of Capacity Development, Mohammed Abba, while in Kaduna, last week, had also warned banks to stop dispensing the old naira notes from Monday.

But Tietie, in a message sent to THE WHISTLER, said his bank, (First Bank, Ahmadu Bello way, Garki, Abuja) gave him old notes.

He shared photo of two bundles of old N1,000 (N200,000) given to him at the bank on Tuesday.

He added that while his bank issued him old notes, a number of supermarkets have started rejecting it.

He described the development as a violation of banking laws, adding the new notes have not been dispensed by some banks.

He urged the CBN to address the inefficiency urgently.

He wrote, “FAILED CBN CASH POLICY: My bank just paid me old notes, this morning while some shops like SAHAD Stores in Abuja have announced the rejection of old notes. And ATM withdrawal limit is now 20k daily. Such a crass combination of incompetence, inefficiency and insensitivity from CBN. The CBN is surely taking our banking laws for granted by its warped and drab monetary policy.”