The National Orientation Agency (NOA) in Gombe State has commenced sensitisation on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s cashless policy and the re-designed naira notes.
NOA Director in the state, Mrs Adaline Patari, stated this on Tuesday when she led the agency’s team on a visit to the leadership of Jama’atul Izalatil Bid’ah Wa Ikamatis Sunnah (JIBWIS) and Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the state.
Patari said that the CBN’s policy was aimed at strengthening the country’s monetary system for the benefit of the citizens.
She said that the sensitisation was in line with the agency’s mandate of communicating government programmes and policies to the citizens in order to get their buy-in.
According to her, the citizens’ support was key to the achievement of all government programmes and policies, hence the sensitisation.
Patari appealed to religious leaders to disseminate the information to their members at the grassroots, especially in rural areas in order to ensure compliance.
According to her, Nigerians have up till Jan 31 to deposit their old naira notes, as the new notes are already in circulation, as directed by CBN.
“The redesigning of the naira notes is an effort of Central Bank of Nigeria to ensure cashless policy in Nigeria and to strengthen our monetary system,” she said.
Patari further stated that with the cashless policy in place, residents would not need to travel with cash.
She, therefore, urged Nigerians to engage in alternative means, such as online transfers and e-naira.
The NOA director said that her team had been visiting rural communities and engaging various stakeholders across the state toward bridging all the information gaps through comprehensive sensitisation.
Patari also appealed to religious leaders to tell their members to collect their permanent voter cards (PVCs) and ensure that they vote during the forthcoming general elections.
Responding on behalf of JIBWIS, the Chief Imam of Bolari Central Mosque in Gombe, Sheikh Abubakar Abdullahi, commended NOA for the visit.
Abdullahi assured that the message would be taken to various communities, in line with the objective of the sensitisation.
He appealed to members of JIBWIS and all the residents to make efforts to deposit all their old notes before Jan. 31, while embracing the CBN cashless policy.
Also speaking, the Vice-Chairman of CAN in the state, Rev. Chris Godobe, said it was important for residents to support government policies for the good of all citizens.
Godobe assured the NOA team that the message would be disseminated to the grassroots for wider acceptance.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some of the religious leaders raised concerns over refusal of some banks in the state to comply with CBN’s directive.
They alleged that banks were still issuing old notes to their members.
The religious leaders also expressed concerns over what they called increasing circulation of fake naira notes, which they said were being issued by some banks and their Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in the state.
NAN also reports that NOA donated some flyers and posters containing pictures of the old and new naira notes to the religious leaders to enable them carry the campaign to the grassroots. (NAN)
