Victor EzejaThe biting scarcity of the new naira notes, worsened by the deadline set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has forced Nigerians to fight at the Automated Teller Machine point in a bank as they struggle to withdraw money.
The naira redesign embarked on by the apex in October last has recently created tension in all parts of the country with the deadline for phasing out old currency notes initially set for 31st January (today) but later extended till February 10, 2023.
A video that has now gone viral showed Nigerians at an ATM point in one of the commercial banks shoving, pushing and fighting each as they struggled to withdraw the new notes.
Commercial banks across the country have in the last week witnessed long queues of people either waiting to withdraw new notes or deposit old ones. Just like fuel Scarcity also hitting the country very hard right now, most bank ATMs no longer have the new notes.
The situation has also given Point of Sale operators an opportunity to do brisk business as they have increased their service charge for different amounts withdrawn by customers.
There are also reports of people who hawk new naira notes of different denominations in the streets.
Commenting on the crisis posed by poor circulation of the new naira notes, an economist and CEO of the Centre for Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr Muda Yusuf, said the government need to increase the amount of new notes in circulation to stop the supply disruption causing the current crisis.
READ ALSO: ‘Naira Redesign Can’t Bring Down Inflation, Will Impact Economy Negatively’
Dr Yusuf, who also queried the rationality behind the short time frame given for swapping the old notes, called on the CBN to extend the deadline by at least a minimum of three months to enable the new notes to circulate properly.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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