There is game at play among customers, banks, and the Central Bank of Nigeria! But what is it, many customers seek to know, even as high networth individuals and politicians are said to be mopping up, in connivance with bank branch managers, available new notes.
Analysts suggest the politicians need the new notes to dazzle voters by bribing them in next month and March elections. “Others are just re-stacking their home vaults through replacements,” a source volunteered.
Last week, a journalist had gone to a Zenith Bank branch in the Central Business District of Abuja. He asked to withdraw N31,000 only.
The teller began to count old Naira notes. He sought to know why? She said that was all that was available. He immediately activated the record button, knowing the Bank could refuse to release the CCTV shots if trouble arose.
“I think I will take this up with the appropriate authorities. How can I come to a banking hall to withdraw money at this time and be fed with old Naira notes,” the customer said.
The young lady stared at him for a few seconds, leaned over to a colleague and asked if he had new notes. He obliged her with N20,000.
“Sir, I can raise only N20,000,” she told the journalist. He agreed to that, collected his money, thanked and left.
But Frank Tietie, a popular lawyer and On Air Personality with Arise Television was not that lucky at a First Bank branch on Ahmadu Bello Way of Abuja.
His story in his own words to this newspaper: FAILED CBN CASH POLICY: My bank just paid me old notes, this morning while some shops like SAHAD Stores in Abuja have announced the rejection of old notes. And ATM withdrawal limit is now 20k daily. Such a crass combination of incompetence, inefficiency and insensitivity from CBN. The CBN is surely taking our banking laws for granted by its warped and drab monetary policy. #failedCBNcashpolicy
Tietie posted two bundles of N1000 notes he got from the bank.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has denied scarcity of the new naira notes as alleged by some Nigerians.
The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, represented by Musa Jimoh, Director, Payment System Management Department of the bank, dismissed the allegation at a news conference on in Jos.
”The CBN has massively supplied the new notes to commercial banks to dispense both at counters and ATMs.
”This is to enable quick circulation and we want to advice commercial banks to desist from keeping the cash away from the public or face the stiffer sanction,” he said
Emefiele advised citizens to deposit their old notes at any commercial bank and acquire new ones with immediate effect, insisting that the Jan. 31 deadline remained sacrosanct.
The CBN governor explained that the decision to redesign the currency shows that the apex bank is in tandem with global standard, adding that currency notes ought to be redesigned within five years.
He, however, regretted that it took Nigeria nine years since such changes was last effected.
Speaking during a ‘monitoring and sensitisation’ exercise held in some locations in Jos, the CBN governor said that the decision to redesign the country’s higher denominations of currency was a national project aimed at addressing problems related to cash circulation.
He added that it would also solve the challenge of prolonged savings in piggy banks, cash hoarding and incidences of fake currencies.
“The Monitoring and Sensitisation project was activated by the apex bank for investigation of the attitude of banks toward the spread of the new currencies.
”We are equally using it to create awareness on the use of agents to circulate the cash in communities with few or no bank branches available,” he said.
He advised that faulty currencies be returned to banks for replacements and cautioned people entertaining the thought that the CBN might extend the deadline to desist as they could face losses.
As the controversy over next week’s deadline rages, the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has joined the National Assembly in calling on the Central Bank to extend its January 31st deadline for use of the old Naira currency notes.
Governor Ortom bared his mind Wednesday, January 25th, 2023 when he received the Governing Council of the Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi, led by its chairman, Hon. Edith Chidinma Uwajimogu who led a delegation of the Council and Management of the University to pay a courtesy call on the Governor at the Benue Peoples House, Makurdi.
The Governor also repeated this call when he later met with the Branch Controller of CBN in Makurdi, Mr. John Odekina and his team who presented the new naira notes to him.
Governor Ortom told the CBN Branch Controller in the State, Mr. Odekina to convey to CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emiefele that he should consider the appeal by the Senate that the deadline for the use of old Naira notes be extended to July 31st, 2023.
He said this has become necessary in order not to put more pressure on the rural dwellers who do not have access to banking operations.
Governor Ortom explained that he was concerned about the short duration for the withdrawal of the old currency notes, stating that rural dwellers who also do business transactions have limited access to financial services and a majority were not even aware of the currency change with the non availability of new currency notes.
According to Ortom, “Even as Governor, I have not seen any new Naira notes even though it is six days to the deadline. What will happen to the man in the village? I join the Senate in calling for the extension of the change of the currency from the old to the new ones.
“Let them look at this critically, so that we don’t throw our people into more hardship and problems. Our people are already distressed. There are distressed people in this country, everybody knows, economic hardship, banditary, killings and all that have made life very tough for everybody.
“Maybe Mr President is not aware, let him be aware that people are going through pains. I am not talking about political parties, whether APC or PDP, or APGA or whatever. People are going through pains in this country. If we don’t say it, we are liars, we are hypocrites,” Ortom stated.
Responding to the issues raised by the Chairman of the JS Tarka University Governing Council, Hon Nwajimagwu, Governor Ortom noted that acquisition of the University land was on a faulty foundation as the host community was not properly compensated for the land.
He said the State Government had already set up a committee to look into the issue of land between the University and its host community and directed the Commissioner for Lands, Survey and Solid Minerals, Hon. Bernard Unenge who is heading the committee to step up efforts to find an amicable resolution.
The Governor pledged that the State Government will involve the University Management so that the community will not lose everything and the University too will not be hindered from operating.
On the appeal for the reconstruction of the road linking the University from the Makurdi-Abuja highway, the Governor encouraged the University Governing Council to factor it into the budget of the Federal Government, stating that due to paucity of funds, the State Government was handicapped to intervene.
Earlier, Chairman of the JS Tarka University Governing Council, Hon. Uwajimogu told the Governor that although the name of the University formerly Federal University of Agriculture was changed to become a conventional University, its core mandate remained agriculture driven academic programmes.
She appealed to the Governor to intervene in the challenges the University was facing, particularly on land issues with the host community as well as the condition of the road linking the institution.
Acting Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Paul Annune in his remarks also called on the Governor to intervene in some of the challenges the institution was facing.
The State Deputy Governor, Engr. Benson Abounu and other members of the State Executive Council joined the Governor to receive the delegation.