Naira Scarcity: CBN Gets Fresh Hurdle

The ongoing naira crisis in Nigeria has taken a different turn as President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to release the old N200 notes into circulation until 10 April, 2023, when it will stop being legal tender.

The president also called on Nigerians to return all old N1,000 and N500 notes to the CBN and ‘designated points’ as they are no longer legal tender.

This news comes as a relief to many Nigerians knowing they can still make use of one of the old notes for transactions.

However, it behooves the CBN to ensure that the N200 naira notes are released massively for circulation.

Development Diaries had reported that the scarcity of cash has affected businesses, commercial services and individuals, which has resulted in violent protests and attacks on banks and some bank workers in some states.

What CBN should do

The CBN recently vowed to crack down on point of sale (POS) operators who have decided to take advantage of citizens by turning themselves into payment agents.

The bank said the activities of such ‘fifth columnist’ agents constitute economic sabotage, hence it would carry out sting operations around the country to arrest and prosecute them.

Following this revelation, the CBN also released emergency telephone numbers to the public to officially report erring POS agents selling new naira notes and those charging exorbitant prices for withdrawal.

This proposed action by the apex bank can be likened to putting a band-aid on a bullet wound and this obviously would not solve the problem from its root cause.

Over two weeks, the CBN had noted reports of breaches by commercial banks, yet no proper sanctions have been meted out to these banks.

As the CBN has decided to clamp down on POS operators for selling naira, Development Diaries calls on the bank to first clamp down on commercial banks for hoarding the new notes as it has claimed.

Secondly, with the new directive from President Buhari, we call on the CBN to ensure that commercial banks respond swiftly to the directive by loading their automated teller machines (ATMs) with the old N200 naira notes, alongside the new notes.

If the commercial banks do not comply, then the apex bank should begin its clampdown on resisting banks, to set examples.

Also, we call on the CBN to ensure that commercial banks are not extorting POS operators, who by extension extort Nigerians. That is one way to tackle the problem from its root cause.

Photo source:  Presidency Nigeria

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