The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has denied scarcity of the new naira notes as alleged by some Nigerians and advised that faulty currencies be returned to banks for replacements.

The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, represented by Musa Jimoh, Director, Payment System Management Department of the bank, denied the allegation in a news conference on in Jos, saying the apex bank has massively supplied the new notes to commercial banks to dispense both at counters and ATMs.

Emefiele advised citizens to deposit their old notes at any commercial bank and acquire new ones with immediate effect, insisting that the Jan. 31 deadline remained sacrosanct.

The CBN governor explained that the decision to redesign the currency shows that the apex bank is in tandem with global standard, adding that currency notes ought to be redesigned within five years, while regretting that it took Nigeria nine years since such changes was last effected.