Despite consistent warning by the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele against arbitrary charges on depositors of old naira notes, a random survey by The New Diplomat, showed that customers who besieged the bank on daily basis in order to meet up with the January 31 deadline, still pay for service rendered.
The CBN Director of legal services, Mr. Kofo Salam Alada who made this declaration during a sensitization program of traders at the computer village in Ikeja, Lagos, said that the CBN Governor had urged traders having difficulty in accessing the new banknotes to call any of these phone numbers: 08176657642, 08176656721, 07080650791, 08176657641 and send messages to newnaira @cbn gov.ng.
He warned residents, market women and traders alike against paying any charges while depositing the old Naira Notes in their respective banks.
But a trader at the Mile 12 popular food market, Hassan Adamu told The New Diplomat that banks are not adhering to the CBN’s directive, adding that he had barely left the bank after making a deposit of two hundred thousand naira this morning when he received an alert on his phone, displaying his account balance with the charges for transactions deducted accordingly.
A Lagos-based business man, Earnest Okolie said the bank charged him on three separate deposits made in one day, adding that the banks had already programmed the system.
Goerge Korede, a civil servant in the Lagos state ministry, said even security officers at most of the first generation banks would collect charges from customer coming to deposit bulk old naira notes except if they are not aware of your transaction.
At the Lagos Island, the story is the same as a mechanic, Akeem who have his workshop at Obalende, said banks at Awolowo road, Ikoyi, Lagos collect charges on deposit of any currency.
“My customer told me how his bank deducted some amount of money from his account after he made a deposit of about five hundred thousand naira in old banknotes. My bank is different from his, and I had similar experience. Please tell the CBN Governor that his instructions are being ignored by the banks. But if he, the CBN Governor had asked banks to effect deductions from every deposit, they would not hesitate to implement the policy,” he said.
Only yesterday, the CBN had asked banks to pick up the new naira notes, adding that the Apex bank had waived some conditions making it difficult for them to access the new banknotes.
Prior to the new order, commercial banks were given slots. But now the CBN is bending backwards to accommodate the banks’ demands.
The CBN also disclosed that its currency monitoring unit would continue to patrol all ATMs and banks to ensure that the new banknotes are not being hoarded.
