ICIR NIGERIA
NIGERIANS are left to their fate to suffer continuos pains as a result of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) silence and non-adherence to the Supreme Court verdict on the use of old N200, N500 and N1000 naira notes till December 13.
The CBN had last October announced it would be redesigning the N200, N500 and N1,000 notes.
The new notes were introduced into the system on December 15, 2022, with the CBN initially setting January 31, 2023 as the deadline, as legal tender, for the old notes being rested.
One of the reasons the CBN gave for its naira redesign decision was its resolve to strengthen Nigeria’s cashless economy.
This CBN’s claim has been punctured by some industry experts, who believe available data.
“Cash to gross domestic product,GDP ratio in Nigeria is currently 1.3 per cent, with the country’s GDP currently at N202 trillion,” said an economist and the former Director-General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce, and Executive Director, Centre for Promotion of Private Enterprises, CPPE Muda Yusuf.
Yusuf lamented the dislocation of the economy and suffering confronting Nigerians on the currency redesign problems, and wondered why CBN is not addressing the outcry of Nigerians on the issue.
To state the least, the policy has brought so much agony to individuals, families and businesses as the new notes have remained scarce. The CBN has not helped matters with its decision somersaults on the swap of the old with the new
As a result, the Supreme Court on March 3 ordered that old N200,N500 and N1000 remain in circulation till December 31.
The apex bank also nullified the Federal Government’s naira redesign policy, declaring it as an affront to the 1999 Constitution.
Despite the apex bank’s verdict, the CBN has not issued official notification to banks to effect the spending of the old notes as a legal tender.
This development has worsened Nigerians’ economic problems, increased the confusion about the validity of the rested notes.
