Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria, has reeled out numbers that residents can call to report any bank that refuses to accept the deposits of old Naira notes.
Gatekeepers News reports that Sanwo-Olu, in a series of tweets on his verified Twitter page on Monday evening, said his government would take action against such a financial institution that disobey the judgement delivered by the supreme court on March 3, 2023.
The Governor appealed to residents to accept the notes, noting that a monitoring team has been set up for compliance.
“My dear Lagosians, I have noted the difficulties that you have been having over the naira redesign crisis. I feel your pains.
“Kindly note that commercial banks have been directed to accept the old N500 and N1,000 notes as deposits and pay them out for withdrawals.
“Putting the needs of our residents above all, we successfully got a Supreme Court verdict which extends the validity of the existing Naira notes till December 31, 2023.
“The CBN at a Bankers Committee meeting yesterday directed Banks to resume acceptance in compliance.
“I urge all businesses in Lagos to accept the old notes as it is legal tender.
“Anyone rejecting these notes will be heavily sanctioned as we kick off monitoring.
“If a bank refuses to accept deposits of old notes, please lodge a complaint with LASCOPA on 08124993895.
“The Lagos State Government will report the bank to the CBN and immediately shut down the offending branch.
“I assure you that this too shall pass as the authorities are working to ensure that the teething problems of the redesigning of our currency are resolved,” Sanwo-Olu wrote.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also confirmed on Monday evening that the old N200, N500 and N1000 notes remain legal tender until December 31, 2023.
Quadri Olaitan is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, public affairs, and human-interest stories.
