The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has urged traders and other residents in Kano State to handle the naira with care, saying improper handling of the currency increases the cost of replacing soiled and mutilated notes.
The apex bank made the call when it commenced a sensitisation campaign across major markets in Kano to encourage traders and members of the public to treat the naira with dignity.
Speaking during the exercise at Galadima Market, a representative of the CBN Currency and Operations Department, Ibrahim Yahya, said the naira was a symbol of Nigeria’s sovereignty and national pride and should therefore be handled properly.
Yahya said the CBN and the Federal Government spent substantial resources replacing notes that become dirty, soiled or mutilated as a result of poor handling.
“By handling naira carefully, we are extending the lifespan of that naira and, by extension, saving a lot of money in terms of replacement of the naira,” he said.
He said the CBN chose markets as the starting point of the campaign because of their strategic importance in cash transactions, particularly in Kano, which he described as a major commercial centre.
According to him, traders receive and handle large volumes of cash from customers before taking part of the proceeds to banks, making them important stakeholders in efforts to preserve the quality of the currency.
“We believe that when we talk to the traders themselves, that is the starting point. They accumulate cash and maybe the part that they have used in their transactions and the remaining, they might likely take the remaining to the bank,” he said.
Yahya said the sensitisation would not be limited to Galadima Market, as the CBN planned to take the message to other major markets across the state.
Markets earmarked for the exercise include Sabon Gari Market, Abattoir, Yankaba Market, Tarauni Market, Yan Lemo and Dawanau International Grains Market.
The CBN representative urged traders and other users of the naira to handle the notes with “pride” and “dignity”, saying proper handling would help extend the lifespan of currency notes and reduce the frequency of replacement.
He said the initiative was also aimed at directly engaging members of the public on their role in preserving the quality of the national currency.
Credit to our Media Partner DailyTrust .
