Naira Scarcity: Latest CBN News, Update On Naira Notes For March 13th, 2023

As the controversy associated with the new naira notes rages on, Naija News brings you the latest update on the controversial policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Naira Crisis: Call Banks To Order – Gov Adeleke Urges CBN

The Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to order commercial banks to accept the old naira notes from residents of the state.

The governor, as gathered by Naija News, expressed his displeasure over what he called the maltreatment of residents of the state by banks who refused to collect old N500 and ₦1,000 notes.

He said how can banks issue old notes to citizens and refuse to collect them.

Adeleke, in a statement on Sunday issued by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, said the State Director of the CBN is specifically requested to direct banks to stop the “unhealthy practice.”

The governor bemoaned how the development has caused pain and suffering for the people of Osun State, adding that it has caused serious economic implications for residents.

The governor insisted that banks should stop issuing old notes withdrawals if they won’t accept them as deposits.

Naira Scarcity: 10 Days Is Long Enough To Comply With Supreme Court Order – ACF Blasts Buhari, CBN

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has knocked President Muhammadu Buhari over the continued non-compliance with the Supreme Court order on the old naira notes.

The ACF in a statement on Sunday by its Secretary General, Murtala Aliyu warned that continued disobedience to the Supreme Court ruling which ordered that the old N500, and ₦1,000 notes should return to circulation could lead to the breakdown of law and order in Nigeria.

Aliyu also berated the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) saying the apex bank should have complied with the order of the Supreme Court even as it is clear the policy has brought untold hardship to Nigerians.

The ACF scribe warned that both Buhari and the CBN have so far not demonstrated that they are obedient to court orders which may be sending a wrong message to Nigerians about their respect for the rule of law.

Naira Crisis: CBN Stops Cash Swap Programme In Rural Areas

The cash swap programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been stopped in rural and unbanked areas.

Naija News learnt that rural dwellers from unbanked areas can no longer swap old notes for the new ones through the CBN’s cash swap programme.

It was gathered that the CBN Acting Spokesperson, Isa Abdulmumin who disclosed the development to The Punch, said the programme has fulfilled its mandate and so the apex bank has stopped it.

It would be recalled that the CBN as part of its efforts to promote financial inclusion introduced the cash swap programme to give access to Nigerians in rural areas or those with limited access to formal financial services to exchange old naira notes for the redesigned notes.

The apex bank in its bid to make the programme effective had excluded mobile money/Point of Sales (PoS) agents in Abuja and Lagos, emphasising that it was meant for people without a bank account.

However, in the latest development, the CBN acting spokesman said the programme was only for a while and not for a lifetime.

Abdulmumin submitted that “The programme has stopped. The cash swap was not in perpetuity and has a lifeline.”