There is a serious concern in the polity regarding the circulation of the new naira notes and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) deadline for the use of the old notes.
In recent plenary sessions, the two chambers of the National Assembly asked the CBN to extend the deadline, which is 31 January, 2023, for acceptance of the old naira notes.
In response, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, declared that the deadline for the return of old N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes would not be extended.
The lawmakers have argued that they are working for the Nigerian people, hence they cannot sit and watch policies of the government threaten the survival of the economy.
Meanwhile, the CBN governor, during the bank’s last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, insisted that there were enough new notes for circulation, but commercial banks have been complaining of insufficient new notes.
The CBN has also accused the commercial banks of frustrating its efforts at ensuring the circulation of the new naira notes. Could it be that commercial banks are hoarding the new notes instead of dispensing them to Nigerians?
If that is the case, then questions ought to be asked regarding why the CBN has yet to sanction erring commercial banks.
Nigerians, on the other hand, are at the receiving end of the confusion because most persons who have deposited their old notes are still not able to get new ones from banks.
For a lot of Nigerians, going to the bank to deposit the old notes is not the problem, but having access to the new notes.
Although the current deadline is still some days away, some retailers and business owners have begun to reject the old notes.
There have also been reports of some Nigerians rejecting the new notes, claiming they do not know them. This, on the part of the CBN, is a clear case of lack of proper orientation about the introduction of the new notes.
The CBN had begun grassroots sensitisation ahead of its deadline rather quite late, after the media had reported issues regarding swapping naira notes.
The CBN should activate its inspectorate unit to ensure that the commercial banks adhere to its directives.
If the apex bank does not come up with smart solutions on how to address the complaints by citizens and commercial banks, the majority of Nigerians will be affected as the deadline approaches.
There should be a little consideration due to the challenges that have been identified in order to avoid creating chaos in the economy.
Nigerians on the other hand who are rejecting the old naira notes before the CBN deadline should note that section 20 of the CBN Act says anyone who refuses to accept the naira as a means of payment is liable to a fine of N50,000 or six months imprisonment.
Photo source: Presidency Nigeria
