10 days’ extension not enough, traders, commuters lament, still reject old notes

BY NKIRU NWAGBO

Despite the extension of the deadline for the use of the old Naira notes by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, by 10 days, traders and commuters in Anambra State have lamented that the 10 days is not enough.

This is coming as they still refuse to accept the old Naira notes, contending that the banks don’t dispense the new bank notes.

At most banks in Awka and Onitsha, as well as Ekwulobia, costumers have been stranded as they are yet to change the old notes to the newly-redesigned notes.

Similarly, the operators of PoS now collect N1,500 as cost of collecting the new bank notes of N15,000, lamenting that they went through hell to obtain the new notes.

According to Mrs Adaeze Igboka, who has a shop at the Eke Awka main market: “The 10 days’ extension is not enough because people are going through hell due to the change in the colour of the notes and when you go to the banks, their ATM machines don’t dispense enough notes.”

“I was there today and only one machine has the new bank notes but after four hours, the machine could not dispense the new bank notes, while others are not even working,” she said.

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Oliver Chukwuogo, a shuttle bus driver, accused politicians and very rich business men and women of conniving with some bank workers to create scarcity of the new notes.

“The people contesting election are the cause of this our problem. They have deals with politicians and business men and women, who give them bribe and the workers would go to their houses with the new bank notes and exchange it with the old ones that are in the position of those people.”

“So when you go to the banks you will not see enough new notes to change with the old notes that you came with.”

Chioma Nwoye, a PoS operator, lamented that most of her colleagues are out of business because people demand for the new bank notes.

“We are now out of business because people demand for the new bank notes and if you don’t have it, you cannot do business.”

“For me, I know what I passed through before I could get up to N500,000 and now I don’t even have up to N100,000 because the notes are in high demand and if for instance, you want to withdraw N15,000, I will charge you N1,500 and if you don’t want it that way, you go.”

“The extension by 10 days is good but not enough for us in this money business, and in fact, they should add 10 more days,” she said.