Business owners, traders, and transporters in Abuja are resisting the Central Bank of Nigeria’s decision to accept old N500 and N1000 notes as legal cash, despite the bank’s declaration 17 hours earlier.
According to media reports, the country’s central bank surrendered to the Supreme Court’s March 3 verdict and published a statement on Monday stating that the old naira notes are still legal tender until December 31.
Nonetheless, Newsmen investigations revealed that citizens of Abuja continue to refuse the old notes.
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Salisu Mohammed, a merchant in the UTC Area market, confirmed that the previous customer notes were refused.
“No one is collecting the old N500 and N1000 notes as I speak to you. If other traders do not collect the money, do you expect me to do so? I have rejected some customers today who came buying with the old currencies,” he said.
Similarly, at the time of reporting this story, motorists and business owners were rejecting outdated banknotes.
Okechukwu Okereke, a cab driver, told Newsmen that he has yet to accept the CBN’s declaration about accepting old naira notes.
“As for me, I am not receiving the money. I heard depositing it at the bank is difficult, so what is the need? Only customers who have the new notes will board my vehicle. I no dey for banks’ wahala”, he disclosed.
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Meanwhile, commercial banks in Utako, Jabi, Wuse, and Abuja city centers are congested with customers, as they have been since the naira crisis began two months ago.
Benson Dogo stated that he arrived at the bank as early as 6:30 a.m. but was unable to obtain any cash, old or new.
Narrating his ordeal, he said: “At a point, the bank asked everyone to leave its premises. Right now I don’t know how to return home.”
Another respondent, Okoro Ndubuisi, said he almost fought the driver who brought him to work in the morning over the old N500 note.
“I told him I had the old note, but he claimed he didn’t hear me say that and insisted I must pay him with the new note. Luckily, he agreed to receive payment by transfer, which was my saving grace,” he said.
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Prof Godwin Oyedokun, a lecturer in Accounting and Management at Leads University Ibadan, previously stated that Nigerians’ compliance with the CBN’s decision may take some time, while Dr Muda Yusuf, Director, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, CPPC, urged the apex bank to launch a massive public awareness campaign about its latest directive.
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