Nigerians can't withdraw new or old notes despite extension

ATMs are empty, and banks have limited the withdrawal of old notes to N10,000
Fear of old money is crippling market enterprises
DSS intercepts syndicates selling new notes, implicating bank officials
I think Emefiele misinformed Buhari

Despite extending the circulation period for old N1,000, N500 and N200 notes until February 10, bank customers continue to face frustration as ATMs are mostly empty. nationwide.

A few people with new naira bills have to wait in very long lines, with customers standing for hours to get their turn. Even after queuing, some people left empty-handed because they ran out of money at ATMs.

This is due to the fact that numerous market vendors in Lagos, the nation’s commercial metropolis, have turned away old naira notes from consumers for fear of suffering financial losses.

In order to reduce suffering, a traders who spoke To The Guardian urged that the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) expand the supply of the new notes.

Chima Nnadozie, a vendor in Oshodi market, claims that due to traffic and crowding, “many still have the old notes and they are finding it almost hard to deposit them at the banks.” Since the new notes won’t be ready and accessible to everyone for a while, some of us opt not to collect the old money once more.

Operators of point of sales (PoS) saw brisk business yesterday as a result of the 10% withdrawal fee. For instance, the fee for withdrawing N10,000 in new notes was N1,000, whereas the fee for old notes ranged from N200 to N500. The majority of operators claimed they had no new notes to provide for their customers.

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Customers who came to withdraw money from a point of sale (PoS) operator’s stand reportedly refused to take old notes because they wanted fresh ones.

Customers would no longer take outdated notes when they come to withdraw cash because they are concerned that dealers won’t accept it from them, he claimed.

A customer said that he queue up at 2 different ATMs, of 2 different banks, but could not withdraw money because the notes were exhausted before it was his turn.

He said that even his attempt to withdraw old banknotes at his counter did not yield satisfactory results, as he was told that banks were instructed not to pay old banknotes of the corresponding denominations. .

It was discovered that banks with banknotes could only distribute N100 and N50 denominations, and over-the-counter (OTC) withdrawals were pegged at just N10,000 per customer.

A bank official said it follows strict CBN guidelines not to pay any customer more than N10,000 of the lower face value.

Meanwhile, the Department of State (DSS) intercepted members of an organized syndicate involved in the sale of new Naira notes. DSS spokesman Peter Afunanya announced this in a statement yesterday.

Afunanya said the DSS found in the course of its operations in parts of the country that some commercial bank officials supported economic misconduct.

“As a result, the service is warning currency fraudsters to refrain from this worthless act. are being asked to strengthen “It should be noted that the service has instructed its command and organizations to further ensure that all individuals and groups involved in the illegal sale of banknotes are identified. We encourage anyone who has it to forward it to the relevant authorities,” said Afunanya.

Alhassan Ado Doguwa (APC, Kano), the majority leader of the House, has expressed suspicion that CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele “misled” President Muhammadu Buhari about the redesign of the N200, N500, and N1,000 notes as members of the House of Representatives wait for Emefiele’s appearance to answer questions about the cash swap policy.

Doguwa, the head of the House Adhoc Committee, expressed his confidence in the President’s ability to make amends for his actions.

The lawmaker, who yesterday spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today, said that the naira exchange will scuttle the 2023 general elections and questioned the genuineness of the CBN governor, who was previously an APC presidential candidate.

Explaining why they believe the president was misled into approving the three bill redesigns, lawmakers said:
“Perhaps the president received a misleading briefing and did not fully understand its implications. Yes, that’s my understanding.”

APC supporters met with the president on Sunday to voice their displeasure, arguing that the CBN governor’s inability to honor the Green Chamber’s invitation was an affront to CBN legislation and government legislative bodies.

Doguwa said the president’s extension of the deadline confirms that he was not fully briefed on the implications of Naira’s redesign before the policy was implemented.

“It (the extension) goes to confirm to you that if the President was really told ab initio on the implications and result of the naira redesign, then without a doubt he wouldn’t have come now to say let’s extend it by 10 days, which implies there is a problem.

As a result, Doguwa said, “I am confident that Mr. President will be one humble leader to understand when he is misled and he should be able to now come look at the right thing and take the right decision like he is doing now.” Doguwa also said that the House will proceed to issue an arrest warrant for the head of the central bank if he continues to ignore a request from the lower chamber today.