By Gbenga Salau, Eniola Daniel (Lagos), Ann Godwin (Port Harcourt), Saxone Akhaine, Abdulganiyu Alabi (Kaduna), Samson Kukwa-Yanor (Makurdi), Murtala Adewale, Ahmad Muhammad (Kano) and Charles Coffie Gyamfi (Abeokuta)
Nigeria’s banking public was yesterday thrown into confusion following a directive by commercial banks that their customers could deposit the old N1000 and N500 notes with them and a rebuttal by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that the information was fake and unauthorised.
Sources in the commercial banks confirmed to The Guardian that the apex bank had ordered money deposit banks to commence the acceptance of the old N1000 and N500 notes from customers upon the presentation of the print out of a form and code generated from a portal opened by the CBN.
“The maximum that we can receive from a customer between now and 10th of April is N500,000 and the customer can only deposit once within this period,” the source said.
An official email issued by one of the commercial banks to its customers yesterday morning also read: “Dear Valued Customer, This is to inform you that our branches shall receive old notes up to a maximum of N500,000 after registration on the CBN portal.
“Please note that deposits more than N500,000 should be taken to the nearest CBN location.
“In addition, our branches will be open tomorrow, Saturday 18 February 2023 to receive old notes. Thank you.”
However, the Director, Corporate Communications Department of the CBN, Osita Nwanisobi, in a terse press release in the evening, denied that the apex bank gave such authorisation to commercial banks and asked members of the public to disregard it.
“The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria has been drawn to some fake and unauthorised messages quoting the CBN as having authorised the Deposit Money Banks to collect the old N500 and N1,000 Banknotes. For the avoidance of doubt, and in line with Mr. President’s broadcast of February 16, 2023, the CBN has been directed to ONLY reissue and recirculate the old N200 banknotes and this is expected to circulate as legal tender for 60 days up to April 10, 2023. Members of the public should therefore disregard any message and/or information not formally released by the Central Bank of Nigeria on this subject.
“Media practitioners are advised to please verify any information from the correct sources before publication,” Nwanisobi said.
This was as protests against the apex bank’s cash swap policy spread across the country yesterday, over people’s inability to access their funds from commercial banks or deposit the old notes at CBN offices across the country.
In Lagos, it took a quick intervention of the State Police Command to douse the tension in Ojota and Okekoto areas. Protesters had gathered in the areas as early as 6:30a.m, preventing motorists from plying the routes. The protest was said to have been staged due to scarcity of new naira notes and President Buhari’s last Thursday’s broadcast putting a stop to the use of the N500 and N1,000 old notes.
Motorists and residents who were on their way to different places of work hurriedly turned back in panic, as the rioters went berserk with bonfire set across the road. Vehicles coming from Ikorodu axis of the state were seen turning back at Mile 12 Bridge for safety.
In other areas, the protesters were seen in clusters burning tyres on the highway, while others were armed with clubs. It was learnt that the crisis in Agege area was a fight that broke out when a food vendor rejected the old naira notes after a customer had finished eating.
However, the State Police Command said the cause of the protest in Ojota area was unknown, but added that it had to immediately send men of the Command to the troubled areas. It was gathered that the protest did not last because it failed to get popular support.
When The Guardian reached out to the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Benjamin Hundeyin, a Superintendent of Police, he said the cause of the protest was unknown but that the police had restored order and people had started going about their normal businesses.
A trader in Mile 12 yam market, Femi Owa said: “There was a little trouble in the morning, but we are fine now. Everything is going well.” Reacting to the protest, Lagos State government noted that the protesters were angry over the naira redesign and its consequent scarcity that has caused so much hardship and confusion among residents.
A statement by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, said that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu believed there should be no need for violence, as the Supreme Court is looking into the controversial matter and would make its position known on February 22.
“Lagos State has since joined the legal dispute – all in the interest of our people – in the belief that the highest court in the land has the capacity to adjudicate on the matter. The fuel situation is easing following some steps taken by the government.
“The government praises Lagosians for showing understanding, despite the pains that the Federal Government’s measures have brought. Residents should continue to be law-abiding by shunning any form of incitement by mischief-makers. Mr. Governor is working with his colleagues to ensure that this hardship does not go on,” Omotoso said.
In Kaduna State, traders, transporters and other business owners jettisoned the directive by the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai for the acceptance of old N1000 and N500 notes as legal tender, as they collected only the new N1000, N500 and old N200 notes.
Those who spoke with The Guardian said they could only obey the directive of president Muhammadu Buhari and the CBN on the policy of naira redesign in the country.
A trader at the Kaduna Central Market, located in the metropolis, Mallam Ibrahim Abdul said: “See, we don’t collect old N1000 and N500 naira. Go to another place nobody will collect it. We can only collect N200. We cannot depend on Governor El-Rufai, because some of us travel to buy our goods from other states and we cannot spend the old notes there. We can only obey President Buhari and CBN on this matter of new and old naira notes.”
In Port Harcourt, some women, physically challenged beggars, yesterday barricaded the ever-busy Mbiama axis of East Road in Ahoada West local council of Rivers State in protest against the scarcity of the new naira notes and the consequential hardship it has brought on them.
The angry protesters blocked the road from the Mbiama boundary between Rivers and Bayelsa State, causing severe gridlock that crippled commercial activities in the area.
The Guardian gathered that some hoodlums swiftly hijacked the protest and started attacking and robbing road users. There were also protests in Ikwere Road axis in Port Harcourt against the naira swap policy.
The affected areas included Ikoku, Emenike and Education Junctions, Mile 2 and Mile 3 Diobu. Hoodlums were said to have also hijacked the protest, destroying valuables and robbing residents.
Checks by The Guardian showed a tensed atmosphere, as residents wore hard faces following their inability to access their monies in the bank and also to make fund transfers. Angry youths were said to have torched some banks in Rumokoro and Ikwere Road.
Source: The Guardian
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