The Central Bank of Nigeria Orders Banks to Open on Weekends to End Cash Shortage

The Central Bank of Nigeria has ordered commercial banks to open for business on Saturdays and Sundays to speed up the process of reissuing old currencies it withdrew from circulation in February. This is part of its efforts to put an end to the persistent cash shortage that has made life difficult for Nigerians.

As part of its efforts to tackle the lingering cash shortage, the apex bank has started the reissuance of old currencies it withdrew from circulation in February. In a statement posted on its official Twitter page, the bank announced it had released banknotes from its vaults to commercial banks across the nation and instructed them to load their Automated Teller Machines (ATM) and carry out physical operations all weekend long. The Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department of the CBN, Dr. Isa AbdulMumin, disclosed this in Abuja on Friday, March 24, 2023.

The apex bank has directed all commercial banks to load their ATMs and has instructed Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele to lead teams to monitor the level of compliance by banks in various locations across the country. The move comes just a few days after the Nigerian Labour Congress threatened to picket apex bank locations over the persistent cash shortage.

This month, the Supreme Court ruled that all old notes would remain legal tender until December 31, 2023, thereby invalidating the Naira redesign policy that phased out the usage of the old N500 and N1000 notes.

Credit: https://gazettengr.com/cash-scarcity-cbn-releases-old-notes-directs-banks-to-operate-saturday-sunday/

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