Nigeria loses N20trn on cash crunch says Yusuf

Muda Yusuf, chief executive officer, of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise

The Nigerian economy has lost an estimated N20 trillion, since the onset of the cash crisis, Muda Yusuf, chief executive officer The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), said in a new note.

These losses, he said, arose from the deceleration of economic activities, the crippling of trading activities, the stifling of the informal economy, contraction in the agricultural sector and the paralysis of the rural economy.

He said there are also corresponding job losses in the hundreds of thousands.

According to him, protracted cash scarcity has not only crippled economic activities in the country, it is now a major risk to the livelihoods of most Nigerians.

“Millions of citizens have slipped into penury and destitution as a result of the disruptions and tribulations perpetrated by the currency redesign policy, especially the mopping up of over 70 percent of cash in the economy.Nigerians have not been this traumatized in recent history,” he said.

He was worried that the economy is gradually grinding to a halt because of the collapse of payment systems across all platforms. Digital platforms are performing sub-optimally because of congestion; physical cash is unavailable because the CBN has sucked away over 70 percent of cash in the economy; and the expected relief from the supreme court judgement has not materialized. The citizens are consequently left in a quandary, Yusuf said.

He said the banks claimed that the CBN has not officially communicated the supreme court judgement to them for any actions; “the President has maintained a worrying muteness on the judgement; the market women and men are waiting to hear from the President Buhari or the CBN governor on the legal tender status of old currency notes.”

“Curiously, there is an apparent reluctance or unwillingness by the federal government and the CBN to comply with the supreme court judgement. This is very disturbing and inexplicable.

“Nigerians continue to groan in the adversity inflicted by the acute cash shortage amid rejection of old currency notes by market operators, refusal by banks to accept the old notes, silence by the presidency on the supreme court judgement; and absence of official pronouncement by the CBN on the issue.

Hope Moses-Ashike

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.