Market News

Despite lamenting the ripple effect of the cash crunch on their businesses, traders refused to accept the old Naira notes from customers.

By Ayodeji Adegboyega,Mohammed Babangida

Many Nigerians this week faced difficulties making payments for goods and services as traders, motorists, and business owners refused to accept the old Naira notes in anticipation of an official approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

In multiple interviews with PREMIUM TIMES, Nigerians who got paid the old N500 and N1000 notes by the banks expressed their frustration amid silence from the CBN and the Nigerian government.

Last Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) must extend the use of old banknotes until 31 December due to the negative impact of the policy.

A seven-member panel of the court, led by John Okoro, unanimously ordered the CBN to continue receiving the old notes from Nigerian citizens.

The court also found that President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive to the CBN on the withdrawal of old notes and redesign of new banknotes without proper consultation was invalid.

The CBN had last December introduced new N200, N500, and N1000 notes, which led to the withdrawal of the old notes from circulation. This policy resulted in widespread chaos across the country, with protests erupting in various regions as Nigerians faced difficulties doing business and making cash payments in daily transactions.

After the Supreme Court delivered its judgment on the naira policy last Friday, some commercial banks in parts of the country on Monday resumed the issuance of the old N500 and N1000 notes to their customers. Analysts thought the development would bring relief to many Nigerians whose businesses have suffered because of their inability to access cash.

But since the Supreme Court gave its verdict on the case, neither the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) nor the Nigerian government has reacted to the new development.

The silence of these key institutions has left many Nigerians confused about the implications of the ruling and how the uncertainty could impact the nation’s financial ecosystem.

Abuja

Despite lamenting the ripple effect of the cash crunch on sales in recent months, PREMIUM TIMES found that traders across the Abuja metropolis refused to accept the old naira notes from their customers.

Some complained of how they have been unable to spend the old notes they had earlier received because of the Supreme Court ruling.

As of Wednesday, PREMIUM TIMES gathered that apart from traders and other service providers, grocery stores and filling stations have declined to accept the old notes.

Dickson Durotimi, a phone repairer at the Wuse market, told PREMIUM TIMES that he will not receive the old note until there is confirmation from the government and other traders begin to receive it.

“I will not be the first to collect it when I know that it will be useless to me. People at Banex (a huge complex where phones and accessories are sold) are not collecting it and this is where I get my market from,” he said.

“I cannot risk it, even as banks are giving it, we are all waiting to hear the go-ahead from the CBN.”