Nigerians ask CBN to release more naira notes, citing Supreme Court ruling
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Bank Customers Association of Nigeria (BCAN) has asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to release more naira notes, old and new, following the Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday that puts on ice today’s deadline for naira swap.
BCAN President Uju Ogubunka said the ruling by the top court makes a lot of sense, and releasing both old and new notes will stabilise both the polity and the economy.
“The CBN can direct the banks to begin releasing the old and new notes side by side to increase cash liquidity in the system,” BCAN President Uju Ogubunka said, per reporting by The Nation.
Vanguard quoted him as also stressing that “redesigning naira, from time to time, and as the need arises, is the responsibility and within the powers of the CBN.
“The reasons adduced by CBN are genuine and are supported by facts we all know. So, we in BCAN have no problem with the intention/plan of CBN.”
_________________________________________________________________
Related articles:
Suspend Emefiele over naira fiasco, Tinubu tells Buhari
LCCI says naira swap deadline extension useless if more notes not printed
CBN naira mess leaves banking halls deserted; scarcity bites harder
__________________________________________________________________
Importance of seamless transition
“All we demand is that the exercise should be carried out at little or no inconvenience to the banking public and the generality of Nigerians,” Ogubunka added.
“BCAN members will cooperate. However, timeframe for the exercise should be scrutinised to ensure it is adequate.
“All those who will render services in the implementation should consider it a serious national assignment and thus be very, very dutiful.
“CBN should try to foresee likely challenges that may arise and create response options. There is hardly any doubt that it will be successful.”
Naira scarcity squeezes half PoS operators out of business nationwide
More than half Point of Sale (PoS) operators nationwide have shut down due to scarcity of naira notes, new and old, exacerbated by a lack of fuel supply, another double whammy of afflictions unleashed by Muhammadu Buhari’s incompetence.
Hussein Olanrewaju, the National Chief Aggregating Officer of the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria, who disclosed the business closures, said naira shortage has worsened the plight of operators.
He canvassed for money agents to be given priority access to new notes, lamenting some Nigerians have taken advantage of the situation to charge unreasonable fees.
“Operators are licensed bodies that provide platforms which agents leverage on. Currently, agents do not have any preferential treatment to deliver this service, hence, more than 50 per cent of agent shops have been closed down as we speak.
“Some agents, however, go to the extreme to buy these monies and those who do not, move from one ATM point to another incurring a lot of cost in the process which will also reflect on the service charge,” Olanrewaju said.
“It’s worthy to note that some Nigerians have taken advantage of this situation to charge people unreasonable charges.”
