By Akinola Ajibade
Nigerians, especially depositors and traders were still sceptical about the validity of N500 and N1,000 notes that were reissued into public domain by commercial banks, days afterSupreme Court’s ruling that both the new and old naira notes should be used until December 31, 2023, when they would cease to be legal tender.
In areas such as Ketu, Ojota, Oshodi, Ilupeju and others visited yesterday, by News Mirror, many Nigerians still want to get assurance from the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria( CBN) Mr Godwin Emiefele that the apex bank has complied with the Supreme Court'judgement, while others are asking President Muhammad Buhari to give orders first before they spend the old naira notes.
Findings showed that some of the Point of Sale (POS) operators are not to go to banks for fear of being paid old notes at the counter or Automated Teller Machines ( ATMs).
Their fears were justified, as traders in the above visited areas in Lagos, strongly resisted the use of the old notes when presented to them.
Some, even asked their customers, especially those they are familiar with to transfer the money to them either through their children’s accounts or those of their neighbours.
Of note, is the fact that many food vendors in Ikorodu were rejecting the old naira notes, saying that they may find it difficult to spend them.
One of them said: " Since naira swap issue started weeks ago, it has been pretty difficult to live normally in the country. Of great concern is the fact that one cannot really accused any institution of causing the problem. While CBN is saying 'A', the Federal Government is saying'B' while commercial banks say 'C'.
While this lasted, some commercial banks are still issuing old notes to their customers either through their ATMs or across-the counters.
Stakeholders said that the development may take some weeks before it is sorted out by CBN and the government respectively.
Comments
Post a Comment