Soludo Urges Anambra Residents to Accept Old Banknotes, Confirms CBN’s Compliance with Supreme Court Ruling

Dike Onwuamaeze

The Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo has advised residents of the state to freely accept and transact businesses with the old N200, N500 and N1,000 as well as the new notes.
In a statement he personally signed obtained on Monday, Soludo disclosed that he spoke with the CBN governor on the matter, who in a telephone chat confirmed to him that in compliance with the Supreme Court ruling, he (Emefiele) had directed commercial banks to be accepting the old banknotes and also load their ATMs with the currencies.
The governor also threatened to shut down any commercial bank that refuses to receive the old N500 and N1,000 notes from depositors and issue same to customers.
Soludo, who is a former CBN governor added: “Commercial banks have been directed by the central bank to dispense old currency notes and to also receive same as deposits from customers.
“Tellers at the commercial banks are to generate the codes for deposits and there is no limit to the number of times an individual or company can make deposits.
“The Governor of the CBN gave the directive at a Bankers’ Committee meeting held on Sunday, 12th March, 2023. The Governor, Dr. Godwin Emefiele, personally confirmed the above to me during a phone conversation on Sunday night.
“Residents of Anambra are therefore advised to freely accept and transact their businesses with the old currency notes (N200; N500; and N1,000) as well as the new notes. Residents should report any bank that refuses to accept deposits of the old notes. Anambra State Government will not only report such a bank to the CBN, but will also immediately shut down the defaulting branch.”
Until the announcement by the governor, residents in Anambra had been complaining that banks would issue to them old currency notes but would not accept them from depositors.