Deputy Director, Operations of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Tunde Lemo on Wednesday disclosed that the bank would take delivery of new naira notes for circulation before the end of September.
Earlier, CBN had expected the circulation of the new naira notes by June, while the smaller denomination notes (N5, N10, N20, and N50) would be reprinted on paper.
“We are going to take delivery of the new notes from this month of August. We are taking delivery of the new notes before the end of September,” Lemo said. “The public would get a large quantity of the new notes to replace the old and mutilated notes, particularly the higher denomination notes in the first instance, then later the lower denominations.”
Lemo also addressed complaints over the unavailability of the lower denomination notes, blaming it on poor circulation by commercial banks.
“For the lower denomination; well, I think the banks are really the ones that are not allowing the lower denomination in circulation, largely, because of the carrying value,” he said, adding that most people do not require small denomination.
“But for buying things in the market, if you look at the veracity, you find out that the N50 circulate more than the smaller ones,” he concluded.
