Anxiety mounts over new naira notes deadline

 

 

There is palpable fear and heightened anxiety among Nigerians ahead of the January 31 deadline for the use of old naira notes and the implementation of the new ones, TOPE SUNDAY and Amoo Romoke report.

Despite the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directive that the old naira notes would stop being legal tender on January 31, the new ones are still very scarce in circulation. This is as many Nigerians, especially at the grassroots, were yet to lay their hands on them.

A visit to some banks in Abuja, Monday, revealed that there was limited supply of the new notes in circulation despite the CBN’s order for the printing of 500 million new naira notes in the first contract, which distribution started on December 15, 2022.

New notes

The newly-redesigned N1,000, N500, and N200 bills became legal tender on December 15, 2022. The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, had on October 26 announced plans to redesign the notes, stating that the old notes would cease to be legal tender by January 31, 2022.

He said the reason for the currency redesign was to stop counterfeiting and hoarding.

Also, President Muhammadu Buhari, while inaugurating the new bank notes in November 2022, expressed delight that the redesigned currencies were locally produced by the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting (NSPM) Plc.

According to the president, the new notes had been fortified with security features that would make them difficult to counterfeit.

He added that the new banknotes would help CBN to design and implement better monetary policy objectives, as well as enrich the collective memory of Nigeria’s heritage

Mixed reactions

According to the CBN, effective from January 9, 2023, individuals and corporate entities could withdraw a maximum of N500,000 and N5 million, respectively, away from N100,000 and N500,000, which was previously announced on December 6, 2022.

Mixed reactions have continued to trail the development to the extent that Nigerians have called for the extension of the deadline to June 2023.

Some Nigerians who have been hoping to lay their hands on the naira notes have expressed disappointment over the scarcity of the redesigned banknotes.

Speaking to Blueprint Weekend on the development, an Abja-based Furniture Maker, Mr. Kazeem Omowale, decried the fact that he was yet to receive payment with the new notes since it was launched in December.

“As a furniture maker, I have access to cash very often but since the redesign of the N200, N500, and N1, 000, I am yet to receive any payment with the new notes. So, I am wondering how the policy will be implemented when the new banknotes are scarce and not in circulation,’’ he said.

On his part, another Abuja resident, Mr. Emmanuel Adeleye, said the new banknotes were susceptible to being faked because they don’t look durable; just as he insisted that fake currency could be easily detected with old notes.

“The old money and the new ones are almost the same but the only difference is that the old one is easy to recognize if it is being faked. However, this new one is not easy to recognise. I still prefer the old ones. I will say that it is only the colour that they changed in the new currency,” Adeleye declared.

Deadline not feasible – Analyst

Speaking with Blueprint Weekend, a Port Harcourt-based Public Affairs Analyst, Comrade Sunday Alifia, said with the scarcity of the new banknotes in circulation the January 31 deadline was not feasible

Alifia, who described the policy which appears be hurriedly implemented as a witch hunt, cautioned that national issues of such magnitude shouldn’t be compromised for political interest.

He said: “The new naira note redesign is a welcome development because of its quest to protect naira indiscipline, hooding, and other vices in the land but it seems the government had its political motive in the way of dealing with political enemies. Witch hunting and fighting political vendetta are all conceived which eventually culminated in the rush. This is bad if the perceived allegation is true.

“National issues of this magnitude shouldn’t be compromised for political interest. Some Nigerians are expressing serious concerns over the scarcity of the new naira notes in circulation a month after the banks were allowed to make them available to their customers officially. “The announcement was met with mixed feelings, with some people are asking the CBN to extend the deadline for the mopping up of the old naira notes from the system as the time is too short.

“As it stands, the deadline is not feasible, the circulation is very poor and it shows they did not plan for it and hence its failure.”

Policy reactive, causing tension, anxiety – CISLAC

Also speaking on the deadline, the Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Rafsanjani, told this reporter that the government did not adequately prepare for the January 31 deadline.

According to him, the policy was reactive.

“Certainly, the redesign and distribution of the naira, and the limit placed by the CBN on withdrawal has brought in tension, anxiety, and worry to so many Nigerians especially those in the areas where there is no access to internet and for those people who can’t afford phones to do transfers.

“This means that their businesses are going to suffer because a lot of communities in the rural areas do not have access to the internet facility and affordable android phones that they can use to do online business.

“The new naira notes are very limited in the banks, and you will hardly find any new currency in the bank. It is still the old currency that is being given out by the various banks in Nigeria. This means, the level of distribution of the currency by each bank has been limited, and not that effective.

“Secondly, the quality of the note is very poor in the sense that it is fading and not as qualitative as what we have as the old currency. This is the worst currency that we have in terms of quality.

“I think it is absolutely sad that this policy came in without any adequate preparation. I think it is just reactive, which I think, in terms of monetary policy, shouldn’t be the case.

“It should be a well thought out issue, it should be properly coordinated, and planned, and there should also be a massive public education by the CBN to Nigerians.

“If you look at other countries, they don’t just completely dole out currency. At a point, the old one will just disappear because there will not be the printing of the old currency. It would have been the new currency that will be available. That is what you will see in Europe, America, and other countries that have a serious monetary policy framework in place.

“This one is looking like it is just a contract, or some people just want to make money, or they just want to make a name that they have changed money. This is the reason Nigerians have been suffering from this policy, and the policy summersault by the CBN has not also helped in terms of keeping faith with our currency,’’ he added.