Nigerians are agitated and curious over the currency redesign policy of the central bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The old naira notes will become obsolete after Tuesday, January 31st, 2023. This has caused retailers and many sales outlets to start rejecting the old notes sending the citizens into a panic mode as the deadline stares them in the face while still having large amounts of the N200, N500, and N1000 notes.
Due to the rush in changing the old naira notes, most automatic teller machines had breakdowns due to heavy pressure which has resulted in bank tellers now having to start counting money in bulks manually, resulting to customers waiting for long hours in queues before being attended to.
Most retail businesses have started rejecting the old notes from customers because of the difficulty they face in getting the new notes from the banks and ATMs with the deadline of the old notes being next week Tuesday.
Ajibade Taiwo said while he appreciates the need to prevent politicians from inducing voters financially, other collateral damages are creeping into the scenario. “Yes, I understand what President Muhammadu Buhari is trying to do, going by his antecedents in 1984, but this is also affecting other segments of the society. For instance, I am finding it difficult to get new notes to buy necessities. Most retail outlets in my community now reject old notes even when new ones are not available. The CBN can stay in Abuja and speak all the grammar, the reality is that most Nigerians are not getting the new notes”.
Ebele Nwankwo, a POS operator in Surulere, said customers are rejecting the old notes:`according to her, bank cashiers are still giving old notes to customers, insisting that there are no new notes in the bank. “Where are we supposed to get the new notes when the banks and ATMs are still not dispensing them? This is why I am not open for business today”, she said.
Mr. Ojo Isaiah, a businessman, said he withdrew N100,000 from the bank but old notes were given to him. He vowed to wreak havoc if any bank refuses to accept the old notes from him on Monday to beat the deadline. He said; “I was informed there were new notes available, which was why I filled teller to withdraw N100,000 but there was no single new one in the notes I was given”.
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A customer, Mrs. Sarah Uzoma, said about the late commencement of banking activities, “They told us to be patient that they would soon load the ATMs with the new notes, but nothing has been done as at 2:30p.m”.
Uchenna a student in Lagos state said though he managed to deposit the old notes he came with at the bank, the effort to access and withdraw the new notes from the ATMs didn’t yield positive results as cashiers in the banking hall directed customers to the ATMs.
The House of representatives had set up an ad hoc committee to investigate the scarcity of the new naira notes at the Deposit Money Banks, also known as commercial banks, leading to tension over the January 31 deadline.
Chairman of the committee, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, at the plenary, on Thursday, informed the House of representatives about the non-appearance of the CBN chiefs. However, the Speaker said the House would exercise its powers as contained in Section 89 of the 1999 Constitution. Gbajabiamila also noted that the CBN Act allows the admittance of an old naira note by banks, even after it had ceased to be legal tender.
Ratecaptain insists that there should be an extension of the old naira note due to the scarcity of the new naira note caused by hoarding from the banks.
