The Central Bank of Nigeria would take delivery of new naira notes before the end of September for circulation, the Deputy Director, Operations, Dr. Tunde Lemo, has said.
Lemo stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.
The apex bank had earlier said that new naira notes would be in circulation by June, and that the smaller denomination notes (N5, N10, N20, and N50) would be reprinted on paper.
“We are going to take delivery of the new notes from this month of August. We are taking delivery of the new notes before the end of September.
“The public would get a large quantity of the new notes to replace the old and mutilated notes, particularly the higher denomination notes in the first instance, then later the lower denominations,’’ he said.
On the scarcity of the lower denomination notes, Lemo blamed commercial banks for what he called “poor circulation.”
“For the lower denomination; well, I think the banks are really the ones that are really not allowing the lower denomination in circulation, largely, because of the carrying value.
“Most people don’t require small denomination. But for buying things in the market, if you look at the veracity, you find out that the N50 circulate more than the smaller ones,’’ he said.