National Orientation Agency (NOA), Nasarawa state directorate, has sensitized the public at motor parks and markets on the new redesigned naira notes, to accept and use in their daily transaction.
Dr Priscilla Gondoaluor, Nasarawa state NOA Director, while speaking with newsmen on Thursday in Lafia, said the collaboration was with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Jan. 31, deadline remain sacrosanct for acceptance of old naira notes.
She enjoined the people of Nasarawa state to respond accordingly to the directive of the apex bank to deposit their old naira notes in the banks and begin to use new notes in their daily transaction.
Gondoaluor said NOA has mobilized and deployed officers to communicate the intention of the central bank to the people in the languages they would understand across the 13 local government areas of the state.
According to her, the sensitisation became necessary because what has been said in the last three months, many people especially at the rural areas, are likely not to understand the intention of CBN
“We collaborate with the CBN to communicate to the people of Nasarawa state on the need to go to bank to deposit their old naira notes, they have been with us and we understand their languages.
“We have been going round motor parks and markets for the last six hours, which strategically located at the cluster areas, where you find users of these monies that are likely not to understand what had been said in the last three months.
“Our officers are in all the 13 LGAs, they have been working in the last few weeks, of course, we are joining them at the local governments to communicate to people in the languages they will understand,” she said.
Mohammed Awals and Priscilla Chukwuma, both traders, said the sensitisation was rather coming late, saying that it should have come before now as many people still have volume of old naira notes.
They said point of sale (POS) operators and some banks were still giving out old notes, and appealed to the CBN to extend the deadline to enable people especially in the rural areas deposit their money.