Some commercial banks in Benin City, Edo State on Wednesday, commenced the dispensing of old N500 and N1000 notes from across the counter to their customers.

This is even as traders, commercial drivers, eateries and petrol stations and others were seen rejecting the old notes from the people.

First Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Zenith Bank, Fidelity Bank, Access Bank, Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB), Wema Bank and other banks visited in Benin City by our Correspondent on Wednesday were paying their customers between N10,000 and N20,000 of old naira notes.

The rejection of the old naira notes by the people in Benin could not be unconnected to mute stance of the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the recent ruling of the Supreme Court.

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Speaking with our correspondent, a cross section of traders in Oliha and Oba markets, said that they are waiting for the directives from the Federal Government or CBN before they could start accepting the old notes.

According to Ighodaro Elvis, a mechanic, “I will not accept the old naira notes from my customers because President Buhari or the CBN Governor has not made any statement on the issue of acceptance.

However, there was a mild drama at the Benin Central Park, along Obakhavbaye Street in the city centre, when a driver of commercial bus plying Sapele road route rejected an old N1000 note from a passenger who had gone to a nearby bank to withdrawal money.

Residents in Benin City, however, called on the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency to address Nigerians on whether the people should start accepting the old notes or not.