By Ekpo Duke
Abuja traders have set the deadline for which they will no longer accept the old naira notes, a move to beat the Central Bank of Nigeria deadline.
Traders at the Area C, Nyanya Market, Abuja said on Thursday after a brief meeting that members will no longer accept the N1,000, N500 and N200 notes effective Sunday 29th January.
The members have been struggling to buy goods from wholesalers at Maraba, Zuba, and Masaka markets with the old notes.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele on Tuesday during the first Monetary Policy Committee meeting of 2023 said that there is no going back on the date set to withdraw the legal tender status of the old naira notes.
Blessing Okoye is one of the traders that are facing difficulty to restock told our reporter that she will begin to reject the old notes from Sunday.
Okoye said, “I will not collect the old note from Sunday, we have collectively agreed, Saturday is the last day. On Tuesday I went to Masaka to buy beans, local rice, and millet, can you believe these women selling refused to collect my money because it is the old note, I had to beg someone at a Point of Sale (POS) stand to change the money and I paid him N800 for charges.
They (CBN) said the deadline is the 31st of this month, but marketers selling in bulk are already rejecting the money. I do not want to lose, it is better for me to have my goods intact, than money that I cannot use. so, no new notes, no goods for you.”
Sellers of fruits are also caught on the web. Abubakar Musa told the website that he is cautious about not losing his hard-earned money.
According to him, since December 2022 when the new notes were released, he has only N5,500 of the new currency.
Musa said, “Ever since they released the new money, I have only N5,500 in my possession, my brothers who sell apples to me at the Maraba orange market, have warned us that Saturday is the last day they will sell to us with old notes.
“I will not collect the old note from Sunday again, because if I collect it, I cannot use it to buy anything due to the warning we received at the orange market,” he added.
The CBN directed banks to load the new note at various Automated Teller Machines (ATM).
Investigations by AljazirahNigeria revealed that many Nigerians are stranded at various ATM points as the new notes are unavailable. We also found that some ATMs were locked and deserted.
Banks on Friday were still issuing old notes over the counter while some ATMs in some states still pay old notes.
Our reporter observed that at the United Bank of Africa (UBA) branch located at Mopol Junction, Nyanya old notes were still being issued.
It was discovered on Friday that the ATM at the Zenith bank branch located at 3rd Avenue Gwarinpa was locked and inaccessible.
Recall that the speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, called for the immediate arrest of Godwin Emefiele the Governor Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over his refusal to honour the invitation to explain his insistence on the January 31 deadline.
He said “The refusal by the CBN to heed the invitation by the House of Representatives is evidence of a blatant disregard for the well-being of the Nigerian people who are their customers.
“It is also an insult to the authority and prerogatives of the people’s parliament. Therefore, I will, under the authority conferred by Section 89 (1)(d) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Order 19 (2)(1) of the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives.
“Not to hesitate in issuing a warrant to the Inspector General of the Nigeria Police Force to compel the attendance of the CBN or Managing Directors who fail, refuse or neglect to respond to the summons by the House of Representatives.”