On Saturday, the entire South-East States were in a frenzy as inhabitants attempted to beat the deadline for returning Old naira notes to banks.
This is despite the fact that the entire region is in disarray as a result of most companies’ early rejection of previous notes.
According to news reports, this is due to the finding that, despite the statement of banks opening on Saturday and Sunday (January 28 and 29) for the collection of old notes, January 30, which is just a day before the deadline, will be a sit-at-home day.
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Indigenous People of Biafra, or IPOB, declared a sit-at-home protest in the South East in 2021 to highlight its members’ dissatisfaction with the continuing arrest of their leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
Despite the cancellation of the demonstration, Mondays in the zone have remained boring commercial operations.
While many residents did not have the new notes to spend in most places where Newsmen watched activity, many business concerns were already refusing the old ones.
As early as 7 a.m. on Saturday, the gates of new generation banks including as Fidelity Bank, Access Bank, Zenith, UBA, and First Bank, all of which are located along the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway in Awka, were already crowded with clients waiting to deposit old naira notes into their accounts.
The same thing happened in Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia, and Imo States.
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Also, in Awka’s Ukwu Oji district, where there is a concentration of bank branches, many others queued up to make withdrawals from Automated Teller Machines (ATM).
The situation was no different inside Nnamdi Azikiwe University’s Awka bank offices.
Customers were observed withdrawing new notes at the Access Bank Enugu-Onitsha expressway branch, however there were also a large number of people waiting to make withdrawals, and only two of the bank’s ten ATMs were functioning.
Meanwhile, traders at Eke Awka Market, the most popular in Anambra State’s capital, began rejecting old notes on Saturday. While some accepted, many others said they didn’t have time to take them to the bank on Sunday to deposit them.
A trader in the provision area of the market, Mr Cornelius Egbe said: “I simply came out today (Saturday), just to accomplish all righteousness. I’m not expecting to sell as many items because I’ve stopped collecting old notes on Friday (January, 27).
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“I have calculated all these things. Though banks will open today (Saturday) and Sunday, I cannot collect the old notes and go to the bank on Sunday to pay in. By the way, on Monday, there will be sit-at-home, and on Tuesday, which is the last day, there will be too many people in the banks. Many people who are doing big businesses will be coming to deposit their cash, and many of them may have connections with banks, so I cannot take small money and go and queue up for the whole day.”
Many people have criticized the new CBN economic policy, but others believe it will reduce inflation and restore the naira’s dignity.
An Awka resident, a politician, Hon Azubuike Ebe said: “Not that I’m happy with what is happening, but for one week now, I have had N10,000 of the new notes. I have refused to spend it. I have only been using transfers and POS to make payment for everything I needed.”
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