Accept old notes to alleviate suffering, Abdullahi Sule tells Nasarawa residents

Abdullahi Sule, governor of Nasarawa, has asked residents to begin accepting the old naira notes.

The governor made the appeal shortly after a meeting with managers of commercial banks on Tuesday in Lafia, the Nasarawa capital.

On Monday evening, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) affirmed that the old N200, N500, and N1000 banknotes remain legal tender alongside the redesigned banknotes till December 31, 2023.

The apex bank’s statement came over a week after the supreme court ruled that the old notes remain legal tender until the end of the year.

Sule said the meeting was prompted by the statement issued by the CBN directing banks to accept and disburse the old notes in compliance with the supreme court judgement.

He said his administration became worried following the losses suffered by farmers in the state who could not transport their produce to the market.

This, he said, was caused by the prevailing scarcity of cash.

The governor said it was too early to ascertain whether commercial banks have sufficient old notes to disburse.

“Our people should begin to accept the available old naira notes which are still legal tender till December this year,” NAN quoted him as saying.

“We just met with Managers of Commercial Banks and they assured us that the instruction came from the central bank.”

He said that acceptance of old notes would go a long way in alleviating the suffering of the people who mostly spend the night at bank premises.