Residents of Bonny Island, like other Nigerians, protested last week about the potential of being excluded from the currency swap exercise due to a paucity of new notes in banks across the island.

However, the CBN quickly deployed staff to the area to monitor the issue, claiming that it has now made the notes available across automated teller machines (ATMs) and authorised operators of Point of Sale (POS) machines on the Island to be provided with the new notes.

Maxwell Okafor, Branch Controller of the Central Bank of Nigeria in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, released these data in a statement during a visit to Bonny Island to supervise the ongoing old naira notes swap exercise and sensitize the people.NYSC portal

According to the statement, Okafor was in Bonny with the CBN’s Head of Development Banking in Port Harcourt, Stanley Oruyeigha, and other bank officials to assess commercial banks’ compliance with CBN guidelines.

He said following the extension of the deadline for the return of old Naira notes, the CBN has ensured that adequate amounts of the redesigned Naira notes are supplied to all banks operating across the country, especially in Bonny Island.JAMB portal

“We are here to sensitize the people of Bonny Island about the redesigned naira that is being introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria and to let them know that the old naira will soon cease to be legal tenders.

”Also, we are here to tell them that banks are bound to collect the old monies until the deadline. If there is any bank that refuses to collect it, you call us to report it.

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He acknowledged the concerns of customers and the general public with regards to the redesigned naira notes, saying all the issues raised have been adequately addressed but maintained that for now, the new notes can only be gotten through the ATMs and not paid over the counter.

“We have addressed the people’s questions. After monitoring the situation in the banks, we are very well satisfied that the banks got an adequate supply of the new currency.

“The instruction is that they should not pay over the counter but put the new notes in the ATM for now. All the banks are well-supplied. All the ATMs we visited are up and running and they are paying new notes. We have told them that no ATM should dispense old notes. We are already aware of the large calls for new notes. So, we are satisfied with what we saw on ground.”

He urged the people of the area to hurry and return their old naira notes to the banks, announcing that the commercial banks would be open to receive the old notes through the weekend.

The CBN team led by Okafor also paid a courtesy visit to the Chairman of the Bonny Chiefs Council, Se-Alabo Dagogo Claude-Wilcox to intimated him of the purpose of their visit to the Island.

Okafor appealed for support from the Bonny Kingdom Traditional Council in disseminating the information relating to the CBN policy on the redesigned naira notes.JAMB Result