Traders are rejecting new notes, say they are light and of low quality
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Some traders are reluctant to accept as legal tender the new naira notes that went into circulation on December 15, even as the low quantity given out by banks is not enough to go round
The redesigned denominations are N1,000, N500, and N200.
Central Bank of Nigeria Governor (CBN) Godwin Emefiele announced on October 26, plans to redesign the denominated notes, saying the old notes would cease to be legal tender by January 31, 2022.
He said the aim was to stop counterfeiting and hoarding.
But Sofiat Balogun, a food vendor at Cele-Egbe bus stop, Egbe in Lagos insisted she would not accept the new notes just yet.
“People say that the money is not fine and that it is not everywhere yet. I will not accept it until I see that it is fully in circulation,” she said, according to survey conducted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
“I do not want to start accepting it and when it’s time for me to spend it, it will be difficult for me.
“And secondly, I have seen on social media a video of a fake new note of N1000, this makes me even more afraid to accept it.”
Eme Jackson, a fruit seller in Ili-ewe market, Egbe, said she is rejecting the new notes because they are too light.
“I prefer the old notes because they are very durable, no matter how you handle them, they will still remain strong unlike the new ones.
“The moment I saw the new notes, I told my children not to accept them, even in my absence.”
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Need for awareness campaign
Phone technician Ozuome Benedict urged the CBN to do an awareness campaign on why the public should accept the new notes, per reporting by Vanguard.
“I do not have a problem accepting the new notes, the CBN should sensitise the people because so many are not aware that there are new notes, that is why they are not accepted.”
ATM machines around Ikotun, Ejigbo, and Oshodi are still dispensing old naira notes.
A bank teller told a customer who wanted to withdraw N100,000 she could only be paid N20,000 in new notes and N80,000 in old notes.
When the customer asked why she would not completely pay her with the new notes, the teller explained she was acting on instruction.
“I’m sorry to tell you that you can only have N20,000 of the new notes. This is an instruction given to us by the CBN,” the teller said.
But a Zenith Bank ATM on Eric Moore road in Surulere dispensed new N500 and N200 notes
Some customers who saw the new notes for the first time expressed mixed feelings as they passed the N500 bill from one hand to another.