Handle Naira with care ― CBN

THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday, called on Nigerians, especially market women, to handle the Naira notes with care, saying Naira notes should be seen as a symbol of the nation.

The Assistant Director, Currency Operation Department of the CBN, Mr Benedict Maduagwu, who stated this in Akure, Ondo State capital, during a CBN fair with the theme, Promoting Financial and Economic Development said there was a need for the citizens to develop good of naira note handling.

According to him, the apex bank had begun sensitisation programme for the market men and women as well as youths and in the state to ensure proper handling of the naira notes and how to properly operate with commercial banks without any hitch.

He stressed that the law guiding the handling of Naira note was still subsisting and violation of the laws would attract jail terms, saying that anybody caught manhandling Naira notes would be jailed for five years with an option of N50,000 fine.

He said, ” Government uses taxpayers’ money to print these naira notes, so it is unfair for us to be rough-handling the notes.

If you continue to spoil the naira notes, there will be no much money for the commercial banks to give out as loans to your customers and this will affect our economy.

” Do not squeeze the naira notes, do not write on the notes, naira notes put under the clothes because of bacterial infection to the body. Anybody selling naira notes is an enemy of Nigeria. ”

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He assured that the CBN would commence the circulation of the lower denomination of Naira notes just as he called on commercial banks to load their Automated Teller Machines (ATM) with lower denomination to assist market men and women, adding that the exercise would be carried out periodically.

” We want to appeal to the commercial banks to be putting smaller denomination inside their ATMs in order to end the scarcity of smaller denomination in the country,” Maduagwu said.

In his remarks, the officer in charge of Consumer Protection Department of the CBN, Mr Oludamola Atanda, advised bank customers to always lodge complaints and seek redress at their various banks if there is an infraction or infringement on their personal bank accounts, especially excessive charges.