…to deploy mobile courts at strategic places across Nigeria
The Bankers Committee on Thursday warned those who “spray” naira notes at parties risk going to jail from the party venue.
Issuing the warning after its meeting in Lagos, the Bankers Committee said the mobile courts would be deployed nationwide to try those mishandling the currency.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) spokesman Isaac Okorafor said the police and the Ministry of Justice would be involved in the operation, adding:
“If a celebrant is dancing and you spray him/her, you may go to jail from the party venue because the law enforcement agents will be there, waiting to arrest you.
“It is the duty of law enforcement agencies to catch offenders and take them to court. Our collaboration with the police will intensify as we move to implement the mobile court for offenders.”
Admonishing Nigerians on how to use cash as gift, Okorafor said: “If you want to give, put the money in an envelop, and give it the celebrant. Let’s know that anybody hawking and writing on the naira will face six months in jail or N50,000 or both.”
Managing Director of First Securities Discount House (FSDH) Merchant Bank Mrs. Handa Ambah said people selling naira notes would be punished.
She said: “We need to let them know that this is money. The fact that you cannot spray money at parties does not mean that you cannot put money in an envelope and pass it to the celebrants.”
Access Bank Managing Director Herbert Wigwe said the committee also agreed to channel a large part of the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) to agriculture and manufacturing to promote agricultural value-chain and manufacturing.
Union Bank Managing Director Emeka Emuwa said the committee agreed to deepen access to financial services adding that there is a draft framework being designed to ensure that more people have access to banking services.
Emu said access to financial services remains a big incentive to the economy and empowerment tool for the citizenry.
CBN Director Banking Supervision Ahmad Abdullahi said there is still relative confidence in the economy, in view of the rise in the prices of crude oil and the level of external reserve.
He said all hands must be on the deck to sustain the momentum.
Tag: Naira Notes
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Hawk, spray naira notes, go to jail from party venue, CBN warns Nigerians
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Scarcity: CBN releases lower naira notes to traders
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it has begun the disbursement of lower denomination of naira notes directly to the traders.
It expressed its determination to put an end to the scarcity of the lower denomination naira notes in circulation.
The apex bank, which also restated its commitment to the economic well-being of all Nigerians, said the disbursement of the naira notes had begun in Abuja and would extend to other parts of the country.
The Assistant Director, Currency Operations Department, CBN, Mr Benedict Maduagwu, stated these at a two-day sensitisation meeting with some stakeholders in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
Some of stakeholders at the meeting included market men and women, students, youths, representative of commercial banks and many social and economic groups in the state, among others.
The CBN director, who addressed the bank customers in attendance, stated that the bank recognised the important role market players and other economic agents play in economic transactions hence the need for easy accessibility to lower denomination currencies.
“The CBN has commenced the direct disbursement of N200, N100, N50, N20, N10 and N5 denominations of naira notes to merchants, shopping malls, stores, supermarkets, market men and women, toll gates etc. in exchange for the higher denominations,” Maduagwu said.
He noted that the disbursement had started in Abuja and had been extended to Lagos, Kano, Enugu, Onitsha, Ibadan, Yola, Gombe, Katisna and Jos, adding that the notes were made available to the beneficiaries through commercial banks.
“The bank (the CBN) has evolved a monitoring framework to avoid abuse,” he added.
The apex bank’s team leader said the sensitisation programme was aimed at creating awareness on the numerous policies, programmes and initiatives of the CBN, which were beneficial to the citizens and also to promote financial inclusion for all segment of the society.
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Police arrest five for hawking, selling naira notes
The police in Ogun have arrested five persons for allegedly hawking and selling Naira notes across the state.
The offence is punishable under provision of section 21(1) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) act 2017.
Although punishable, selling of naira notes is a common trend across Nigeria especially at party venues.
The police spokesperson, Abimbola Oyeyemi, made this known to journalists on Sunday, adding that the suspects were arrested in various parts of the state.
All the suspects are female, he said.
Mr Oyeyemi said various denominations of Naira notes totaling N1.56 million was recovered from the suspects who were publicly exhibiting their trades.
“The Commissioner of Police equally warned members of the public to desist from any act capable of soiling, abusing or destroying the Naira which is one of the symbols of our national identity,” he said.
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Stop mutilation of naira notes, we spend billions printing it — CBN tells Nigerians
…Says its symbol of national sovereignty
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has condemned the mutilation of naira notes, saying it represents an abuse on national sovereignty.
Mr. Isaac Okorafor, CBN’s acting Director of Corporate Communications, made the condemnation in an interview with newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja.
According to Okorafor, the mutilation of the naira as perpetrated by members of the public at wedding ceremonies and parties end up damaging the currency.
He, therefore, called on Nigerians to treat the nation’s currency with respect.
“You see it is unfortunate that Nigerians do not take pride in symbols of our national sovereignty.
“The Naira is a symbol of our National sovereignty.
“We have embarked on sensitisation across the nation and we have gone to 28 states of the federation in the last one year, trying to tell Nigerians how to identify fake Naira notes, counterfeits notes and how to handle the naira with care.
“In some cases, we have distributed wallets so that people can put their money neatly.
“For us, it is so frustrating that not many Nigerians are listening to it.
“We spend a lot of money printing these bank notes.
“And we print a banknote, release a bank note on a Friday, people go to parties they dance on them.
“They go to churches, they squeeze it and put it in offering and by Monday it is already old and mutilated and we spend hundreds of billions of Naira on printing these note.
“It is so unfortunate.’’
He said that under no circumstance should the Naira be squeezed or reduced to a piece of paper for writing.
On hawking and sale of newly printed Naira notes popular known as “mints’’, Okorafor said that the apex bank was working with the police to stop the illegal practice.
Section 20 and 21 of the CBN Act recommends that whoever sells, buys, sprays and squeeze the naira, will be imprisoned for six months or given an option of N50,000 fine, or both.
Okorafor said that the police carried out raids in Abuja and Lagos, where mint vendors were arrested and their monies seized.
“On our side internally, we have made it clear to all that any CBN staff that is found complicit in any of this act, will be summarily dismissed.
“That is our position,’’ he said.
The CBN spokesman also gave reasons why there are so many mutilated Naira notes in circulation, especially the lower denominations.
“The first one is the fact that people handle these notes so badly and so within a short while they don’t get to their lifespan anymore and for the lower denomination notes, they have a higher velocity of circulation.
“What that means is that you use it more often and as you use it in exchange, it gets worn out it gets torn more frequently. So that also creates another problem.
“Another factor is that the banks that have the duty to bring back to us mutilated notes do not do their jobs well.
“Banks are supposed to sort the notes into unfit notes and then when they are bringing the notes back to us, they bring those ones that they have sorted and brought out as unfit and worn out.
“But they don’t do that. And what we do, if they bring it back to us like that, we do the sorting and charge them because it is a job they have failed to do.
“But then, what we have discovered is that banks instead of bringing these notes like that for us to sort them and charge them, they will re-circulate it.’’
Okorafor said that the apex bank would soon release new regulations concerning the role of banks in taking mutilated notes out of circulation.
The CBN spokesman stated that the bank plans to print more money, especially the lower denominations, to ease pressure on the Naira notes already in circulation.
NAN