CITIZENS COMPASS– Ahead of the January 31 deadline by the Central Bank of Nigeria, commercial banks across the country have said their branches will operate on Saturdays and Sundays to enable them cope with the teeming population of customers who come to deposit their old naira notes.
Among the banks are First Bank of Nigeria, Guaranty Trust Bank and Zenith Bank which have issued directives to their workers to comply.
In a public notice issued by the management of the banks on Friday, they said that the planned weekend operation was for receiving old naira notes only.
“This is to notify the general public that all our branches will be open on Saturday and Sunday just to receive cash.
“All old Naira notes of series 200, 500 and 1000 will cease to be in use from the 31st of January,” First Bank said in a notice.
The CBN had insisted that old notes of N200, N500 and N100 would cease to be in use from January 31.
The governor of the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has said the deadline remains sacrosanct, despite entreaties from different stakeholders that the apex bank should extend the deadline.
When Citizens Compass monitored the banks’ activities on Saturday, in Lagos, the banking halls witnessed unusual turn up of customers who come to deposit their old notes.
In a chat with our correspondent, some of them said they did not envisage that the the Central Bank of Nigeria will not extend the deadline.
The customers said the situation have disrupted economic activities as traders rejected the old naira notes.
Some traders told Citizens Compass that traders at some major markets in Lagos rejected the old notes.
Despite the deadline, Nigerians said the new Naira notes are not yet in circulation..
