APC governors reject the deadline for outdated naira notes
They also informed Emefiele that it was obvious the CBN could not distribute the new notes while the old naira notes were being cleaned up.
The Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) February 10 deadline to end the legal tender status of the old N1000, N500 and N200 notes has been rejected by governors elected under the All Progressives Congress.
The governors decided to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari to discuss their concerns that Nigerians have recently found it difficult to live a normal life.
According to a source who spoke to the newspaper, the APC governors would most likely inform the president today at 10 a.m. that, in addition to any potential benefits from the naira swap, the CBN’s poor timing is already harming the nation’s economy, residents’ well-being, and security.
Before reaching the decision to meet the president, the governors had reportedly nominated Governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Mai Mala Buni (Yobe) and Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), who had met with CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele between January 30 and 31. During the meeting, they reportedly expressed their displeasure over the “hasty nature”, the cashless policy transition was being managed.
They also informed Emefiele that although the old naira notes were being cleaned up, it was clear the CBN could not provide the commercial banks with the new notes because Nigerians were having trouble accessing the money they had lawfully placed in those institutions.
The governors allegedly told Emefiele that failed transactions on various internet platforms showed that the commercial banks lacked the necessary technology to handle the shock of rising customer pressure.
According to one of our sources, the governors instructed Emefiele to extend the transition period to between six months and one year in order to establish a cashless society that would actually function.
“But Emefiele told them that there was actually no ill-feeling while taking the decision to change the naira notes; and that it was not his unilateral decision. He told them the president has to be in the picture,” the source said.
According to him, “All the APC governors are not happy because in the first instance, they were not consulted on the new naira policy and the timing and they felt that as a federating unit, states must be consulted before such a sensitive decision is taken.
“They told Emefiele that the anticipated gains of the policy have been deflated because Nigerians are angry; their economy is grounded and many of them have to pay money to access their monies.
“They told Emefiele that the approach is not in line with international best practices because the infrastructure that will support cashless policy is weak. There is no single state in the North for instance that all its LGAs have banks. There are similar challenges in some states in the South and that it is the informal sector that drives the economy and therefore, Nigerians require more time, knowledge and support to transit to a cashless society,” he said.
He claimed that after briefing their colleagues, the four governors decided to request a meeting with President Buhari, adding that the meeting will happen at any moment.
