Thirteen days to the general election, there is confusion everywhere in Nigeria. The biting currency scarcity has put citizens on edge. Since last Friday when the extended date for the swap elapsed, neither the Presidency nor the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has deemed it necessary to talk to the people on state of things even if it is to state their stand on the Supreme Court’s judgment on the subject matter.
It is a double jeopardy as Nigerians find it difficult to buy petrol also. Many stations are no longer accepting the old notes, except a few that decided to take the risk.
Across the country, the pain is very excruciating. People are running from pillar to post in search of the scarce new naira bills.
Songs, no doubt, remain the best way to live the moments and leave worries and anxiety. Little wonder therefore, that musicians like the late Jim Reeves, Fela Anikulapo Kuti and Sunny Okosuns, invented songs to capture the feelings in their days.
In one of his hit songs which has remained ever green, Reeves asks, “Where do I go from here?”
Today, barely two weeks to Nigeria’s February 25th Presidential election, Nigerians are asking “Where do we go from here?”
The question is apt because of the eerie silence from the Federal Government and the CBN despite expiration of the February 10th deadline set as terminal date of phasing out the old currency notes.
They are also yet to make any categorical statement and the Supreme Court’s order, asking that the deadline be suspended.
The helpless situation deepened Friday, as the National Council of State meeting ended without delivering the much expected specific policy direction needed to have helped assuage the fears of Nigerians over the imbroglio created by the CBN policy.
Briefing State House correspondents after the meeting, Governors of Lagos and Taraba States, Babajide Sanwo – Olu and Darius Ishaku respectively, as well as Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, revealed that the Council, in its capacity “advised the President to allow the old notes co-exist with the new notes to ease the suffering of the masses.”
Malami, while speaking on the outcome of the meeting, said that the meeting was “called to allow for accommodation of opinions from all the stakeholders, including former Nigerian leaders.”
According to him, “The two major resolutions that were driven arising from the deliberation are one; that we are on course as far as election is concerned, and we are happy with the level of preparation by INEC and the other institutions.
“Relating to the Naira redesign policy, the policy stands but then the Council agreed that there is need for aggressive action on the part of the CBN as it relates to the implementation of the policy by way of ensuring adequate provision being made with particular regard to the supply of the Naira in the system.”
But, soon after the National Council of Stare meeting on Friday, several organisations, including ShopRite, Filling stations, and shop owners stopped collecting old Naira notes, to avoid running afoul of the CBN policy.
Two House wives, Uju Ikechukwu and Angela Kokpose, told BusinessDay Sunday that they had to return home with the old notes, as the ShopRite, Lugbe Abuja refused to accept the old N200, N500 and N1000 notes.
Kokpose said that she was given only N5000 (five thousand) Naira, mainly of N50, N100 notes, after waiting for four hours at one of the banks.
“The bank said they couldn’t give more than N5000 (five thousand) because they didn’t have the new notes. So, they gave me N4000, in N50 denominations and N1000 of N100 denominations. But I was surprised when we got to ShopRite Lugbe, they politely told us that their managers have directed the cashiers not to accept the old N200, N500 and N1000 notes.
Read also: Fuel and cash shortages rile Nigerian voters heading into election
According to Ikechukwu, “Many people ended up abandoning their items at the cash points, because they could not pay with their ATM cards, leading to failed transactions as network did not connect.”
One of the managers at the filling stations located at the Central Business District (CBD) in Abuja, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said his organisation had adjusted their system to ensure that it is only new notes of the redesigned Naira that is accepted at any of their branches.
“It is not our fault Sir. Everybody was expecting the National Council of State meeting to come up with a definite position that will help Nigerians, but they did not
Why did they attend the meeting? Of what use was the meeting?” the manager said.
Speaking further on the outcome of the meeting, he said: “The President did the right thing by bringing in everybody, so that they could find a solution, but they ended up playing politics as usual. So, nobody should blame us for not accepting the old notes. If we accept them from you and the banks fail to honour them, who will bear the loss?”
But in a twist on Saturday, some shop owners, at the Kuje market reverted back to collecting the old notes, as many complained about business losses occasioned by poor sales in a matter of weeks.
A groceries seller, Idri Hamanjoda explained that the resolve to accept both the old and new notes was because of the poor sales in the past few weeks.
“We are not seeing the new notes and our goods are going bad. We heard that Malami said they would obey the Supreme Court orders; so, we have to accept the old notes,” Hamanjoda said.
When our correspondent visited Kuje market on Saturday, it was discovered that business activities were in full gear, as there was little resistance to the old notes.
Point of Sales (POS) terminal operators were also seen busy attending to customers who thronged their shops for cash.
Nsikak James, one of the PoS operators told BusinessDay Sunday that they have reverted to accepting old notes, circulating within the community because that’s what is available.
“Sir, even if you go to the bank, they don’t have the new notes to give compared to demands. What we are exchanging here comes from those who are depositing the money with us.
“For the past one week, my legs did not step into any bank. I only send my boys to see if they can collect the new notes and it has been very difficult accessing money from the banks. But I go to the market to solicit for deposits and I in turn, dispense to my customers, of course, at a profit.
Nsikak however, said that he was running a big risk accepting the old naira bills.
The PoS operator, who said was a Masters Degree holder in Business Administration (MBA), said he had the confidence that the Federal Government would obey the Supreme Court order.
“Yes, there is no business without risks. That is why I give out N10,000 at the rate of N1000, instead of the former N100 for N10,000.
“It is that bad, we are in a very difficult situation, but the truth is that if we don’t do it, people will suffer. Go to the Main Market, people are still spending the old notes we gave them.
“I just hope and believe that the Federal Government will act quickly to reduce the hardships they have foisted on Nigerians,” he said.
Matthew Edaghese, a legal practitioner, who sees the Naira swap policy by the apex bank as a laudable one, however, pointed out that some persons, who the policy is supposed to check their excesses are hell-bent on sabotaging it because they feel it is a threat to their nefarious activities.
“The CBN should not be subjected to political pressure and unnecessary interference by political stakeholders. The three governors that went to the Supreme Court did so for their political interest and personal motives; they cannot hide under the guise of protecting public interest whereas, at this period of time, when there is fuel scarcity, these governors never saw that as the problem of the people because it does not affect them.
“So, the Supreme Court’s decision was very unpopular because even the CBN was not a party to the suit. How do they think they will bind them by an order of court in a suit they are not party to?
“You cannot grant such a far-reaching order on ground of an ex parte application because the order was to the extent that the deadline should not hold. It means you have determined the full case which is exactly what the governors wanted; and that is to interfere with the actions of the CBN and disrupt their programme.
“The CBN legal department gave their opinion that they are not a party to the suit and they are not bound by that order and that is why there is no further statement from the CBN. As far as they are concerned, their earlier decision holds.
“They cannot be bound by proxy in a case they are not party to and what they are doing is constitutional. CBN has the power under the CBN act to do what they are doing and they have not violated any law to warrant them being charged in court,” Edaghese said.
The legal practitioner further said that if the Naira was being sabotaged, then the authority needs to find the saboteurs and not fight for a reversal of the policy, saying, “Are you now going to bend the law to accommodate the activities of criminal elements or you should use the law to deal with them? This is the dilemma and it is very avoidable except for those who want to continue to hold Nigeria hostage.”
He, therefore, recommended that the best approach is to shut the door through the deadline that the old notes cease to be legal tender and not using the notes side by side with the old notes.
Edaghese equally explained that the current cash crunch, fuel scarcity and other issues pushing Nigerians to hardship will not have a significant impact on the will of the people to cast their votes and bring about the change that is badly needed.
According to him, “Instead, it will be a motivation. In fact, it has further provoked the angry populace to express their will through the ballot and effect a change of political leadership. These current situations will work against the ruling party because they take the blame and the buck stops on their table; they stand to suffer electoral misfortune.”
Pius Oiwoh, immediate past chairman, Benin branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), said nobody would be discouraged from exercising his or her franchise as Nigerians are now wiser, resolute and they will rather see it as a challenge to vote out those behind this policy.
“Everybody is crying, including the rich and the poor. This is the worst time for us as citizens and then the opportunity has come once again to take our destinies in our own hands,” he said.
According to him, “It is really unfortunate that neither the president nor the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria has issued a statement to determine the validity or otherwise of the redesigned notes. But, interestingly, the Supreme Court ruling has brought relief to Nigerians because that order is a final order from the apex court of the land and to a large extent has settled a lot of issues,” Oiwoh said.
Although he said the policy was a positive step towards the cashless system drive, the legal practitioner said that the timing was wrong and that the necessary parameters were not there and the apex bank has not been able to put things in proper perspective.
“So, like most Nigerians, I believe that the FG’s move is mischievous and they are targeting one or two persons in the election so as to further slim their chances or to make it narrow and dim. This beats my imagination, how can an administration which is about exiting and a government that is fielding a candidate for the election want to be remembered for causing hardship?” he queried.
