Tension over scarcity of cash has worsened across the country, with millions of Nigerians denied access to their savings.• Emefiele: CBN will still collect old notes after Feb 10 deadline• Online transfers take days to complete, disputes increase• Falae carpets Emefiele, says policy likely to disrupt 2023 polls
After several days of standoff with the House of Representatives in which the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, had threatened to issue an arrest warrant on the apex bank chief, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, yesterday, allayed fears that the old naira notes would no longer be tenable after expiration of the February 10 deadline for the naira swap policy.
Expressing satisfaction with the enthusiasm so far exhibited by Nigerians over the naira redesign and swap policy, he frowned on officials of some commercial banks that indulge in the unwholesome act of hoarding the new notes. He particularly applauded Emefiele over the pledge to adhere to the CBN Act on the acceptability of the old naira notes after the expiration of the deadline.
The Deputy Director, Banking Supervision Department, CBN Lagos, Kayode Makinde, disclosed this to newsmen while leading a team on the monitoring exercise in Ogun. Nwanisobi said after the deadline, Nigerians would be able to redeem the face value of the naira only at the CBN and not at commercial banks. He also added that the acceptance would be subject to meeting certain conditions.
With other options completely exhausted, many have turned to Point of Sale operators, who have increased their charges to as much as 10 per cent. Sadly, they can only meet a tiny portion of the cash demand. After being cheated by failed transactions previously, some business owners are going as far as opening registers for personal details of customers wishing to use alternative payment channels.
Millions of Nigerians have taken to social media to vent their anger and frustration, calling for an immediate review of the policy. A section of the social media protesters has also called on the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, who appeared before the House of Representatives yesterday to defend the policy, to act fast to save the economy and restore sanity in the monetary system.