Traders across the country have stopped to collect the old naira notes ahead of the Tuesday, January 31, 2023, deadline.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had set the deadline to phase out the old N1,000, N500, and N200 notes, which were launched by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday, November 23, 2022.
However, as the lingering shortage of old naira notes forced several Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to shut their Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in Lagos, Abuja, and other states across the country, traders and other business outlets are now rejecting the old naira notes.
Amongst the business outlets rejecting the old naira notes already is Chicken Republic, which put out a notice to its customers that from Tuesday, January 24, it would only accept the newly-launched notes.”
“I left my house to get what to have for breakfast at the Chicken Republic outlet in my area only to discover that my money was no longer useful, as it was rejected. I was disappointed because the CBN deadline was next week’s Tuesday,” a customer shared his experience with BizWatch Nigeria.
When this writer approached some traders in the Ogba area of Lagos to purchase some items, he was met with disappointment, as they all rejected the old naira notes he had with him.
Meanwhile, a lawyer identified as Joshua Alobo approached the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, praying the court to stop the apex bank from implementing the January 31 deadline to phase out the old naira notes.
Alobo, in the suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/114/2023, also prayed the court to make an order extending the duration when the old banknotes would cease to be legal tender for three weeks. Listed as first to third defendants in the suit are the CBN, the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, and the attorney general of the federation, Abubakar Malami.
He said this was to give time for when commercial banks would have enough new notes to dispense.
