President Muhammadu Buhari has asked Nigerians to give him seven days to resolve the crisis caused by the scarcity of new naira notes.
The president said he has seen reports about cash shortages and the effect on local businesses and ordinary people.
He added that the remaining seven days of the 10-day extension will be used to crack down on the encumbrances mitigating the successful implementation of the currency redesign policy.
“I will revert to the CBN and the Minting Company. There will be a decision one way or the other in the remaining seven days of the 10-day extension,” the president said on Friday.
His position was made known after meeting with governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Banks in Ibadan, the Oyo capital, have been attacked following protests over lingering scarcity of cash. Our correspondent had earlier reported that protesters in Ibadan took to the streets to protest the scarcity of petrol and naira notes.
The unrest was said to have started at Agodi gate, at the intersection that leads to the state secretariat and the government house, before it spread to other parts including Iwo road, Gate bus-stop, and Idi Ape.
Access Bank and Wema Bank branches located in the Dugbe and Queen Cinema areas of the town were attacked.
Adewale Osifeso, the spokesperson of the state police command, confirmed the attacks on the financial institutions to our correspondent. “Some persons tried to vandalise the ATM of Wema bank but were repelled by the police,” he added. Osifeso had earlier told our correspondent that intelligence showed that some unspecified persons have plans to attack banks, prisons, and facilities belonging to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
"Worthy of note is that available intelligence reveals that certain unscrupulous elements have perfected plans to hijack the process, escalating the situation into full-scale chaos by shutting down and attacking places of interest which include but are not limited to INEC facilities, banks, media houses, schools, correctional centres and other critical infrastructure inclusive of looting major malls and business centres within the state,” he said.
“Members of the public are hereby advised especially with reference to the youth segment to avoid being used by agents of violence who want to capitalise on the situation to criminally enrich themselves especially as we navigate towards the 2023 General Elections as the Command is fully prepared to mobilise fully to prevent these criminal elements from turning Oyo State into their playground.”
Video: Watch As Angry Protesters Attacked WEMA Bank Amid Scarcity Of Money
Since the rollout of the new Naira Notes and monetary Policy, Nigerians are faced with lots of hardship ranging from: Scarcity of Cash for daily transactions, Large Queue at ATM stands, even as Online Apps of some commercial Banks begin to malfunction.
Daily News Report gathered that Point Of Sale (POS) Terminal Owners charge as low as 100 per Thousand note for withdrawal.
Godwin Emefiele, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s governor, stated over the weekend that the official foreign exchange receipt from crude oil sales into Nigeria’s official reserves has depleted from over $3.0 billion monthly in 2014 to zero dollar today.
At the 57th annual bankers’ lecture sponsored by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Lagos on Saturday, Mr Emefiele said there was a significant loss in foreign reserves due to the naira’s struggle and the rise in demand for forex.
The governor stated that a severe crisis in the Nigerian foreign exchange market is putting pressure on the country’s reserves and suppressing the value of the naira.
“The official foreign exchange receipt from crude oil sales into our official reserves has dried up steadily from above $3.0 billion monthly in 2014 to an absolute zero dollar today,” he said.
The leader of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, South-East chapter, Gidado Siddiki, has appealed to the Central Bank of Nigeria to extend the deadline given for the circulation of the Country’s new currency notes.
Siddiki made the call in an interview with journalists in Awka, on Thursday. He said the December 15, 2022, deadline should be extended for another three months to enable members of the association bring out their money from the forests to avoid huge losses on their part.
He said the appeal became necessary because according to him, the group are majorly living in forest and bushes as a result of their business, they needed more time to bring out their savings for proper transformation to the new redesigned notes.
The Central Bank of Nigeria had announced the redesigning of the three highest currency denominations: N200, N500 and N1,000 notes.
Miyetti Allah said, “We can not fight or reverse government policies as law abiding citizens of Nigeria, we are only appealing to the CBN to help us extend the deadline for another three months, so as to enable the leadership of Miyetti Allah reach out properly to those living in out of telecommunication areas across states of the federation.”
Former Nigerian Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has claimed that Introduction of N5,000 notes in Nigeria have not been crept under the carpet.
Plans to introduce the N5,000 note denomination in 2012 were resisted, forcing the CBN to back out of the idea.
He also said the proposed new Naira notes between December and January next year will all have Arabic inscriptions on them.
The former CBN Governor, in a short sermon has shared via his social media platforms, also stressed that he had spoken with present CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele who assured that the rumoured removal of the Arabic inscription on the Naira notes was baseless.
During this sermon, he recalled how attempt by the CBN to introduce N5,000 note was resisted, stressing “considering the quantum of cash Nigerians carry, the issue is something that can not be avoided in future”.
Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Zainab Ahmad, has disassociated her ministry from the planned move by the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN) to redesign the naira.
The minister, who commented on the policy in response to a question raised by Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC Ekiti Central) during the 2023 budget defense session with the Senate Committee on Finance, warned CBN of consequences that may arise from the new policy.
Senator Bamidele had told the minister that barely two days after the announcement of the plan, the effect on the value of the naira to the US dollar was being felt.
Bamidele said, “Just two days after the announcement of the policy, the value of naira to a US dollar has risen from N740 to N788 due to a rush in exchange of naira notes for foreign currencies, particularly dollars."
In her quick response, the minister said she and her ministry are not aware of the policy but only heard of it from the media.
“Distinguished senators, we were not consulted at the Ministry of Finance by CBN on the planned naira redesigning and cannot comment on it as regards merits or otherwise, " Senator Bamidele added.
The sum of N281.07 billion has been spent by CBN to print bank notes between 2016 and 2020 and another N3.88 billion to destroy mutilated notes within the same period.
Apex bank data showed that N33.37 billion had been used to print new notes in 2016, the amount expended increased to N49.52 billion and N64.04 billion in 2017 and 2018 respectively. At the end of 2019, N75.52 billion had been spent on printing new naira notes as the amount spent declined in 2020 to N58.07 billion.
Within the same five year period, the central bank spent N3.88 billion to destroy N4.197 trillion while N1.44 billion was spent in 2016 to dispose off mutilated naira notes with a value of N829.94 billion. The amount spent however dropped by almost half to N594.62 million spent in 2017 to destroy N977 billion.
The money spent in disposing N814.59 billion rose to N662.21 million in 2018 and declined slightly to N647.82 million that was used to dispose off N814.43 billion. In 2020, N538.59 million was used to destroy N698.59 billion.
The Central Bank governor- Godwin Emefiele, on Wednesday said that the apex bank would redesign the Country’s currency.
"On the basis of these trends, problems, and facts, and in line with Sections 19, Subsections a and b of the CBN Act 2007, the Management of the CBN sought and obtained the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari to redesign, produce, and circulate new series of banknotes at N100, N200, N500, and N1,000 levels," the statement added.
The CBN also said that, "Accordingly, all Deposit Money Banks currently holding the existing denominations of the currency may begin returning these notes back to the CBN effective immediately. The newly designed currency will be released to the banks in the order of First-come-First-serve basis.
"Customers of banks are enjoined to begin paying into their bank accounts the existing currency to enable them withdraw the new banknotes once circulation begins in mid-December 2022. All banks are therefore expected to keep open, their currency processing centers from Monday to Saturday so as to accommodate all cash that will be returned by their customers."
Reacting to this latest development, some Nigerians say the redesign will bring a new face to the old currency. While some said this may affect the activities of the Bandits who already have the "Old" currency and might be faced with the issue of getting the new notes when in circulation.
In another reaction, some economists say there is no point in redesigning a devalued Currency, saying that the CBN Governor should rather focus on how to give more value to the Naira notes.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) have announced the completion of a Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) for the acquisition of 100 percent of the equity in Polaris Bank by Strategic Capital Investment Limited (‘SCIL’).
The House of Representatives on Wednesday okayed the sale of Polaris Bank, noting that the acquisition followed the laid down procedure and the relevant presidential approval.
A statement by Apex Bank's Director of Corporate Communications Osita Nwanisobi, said: “SCIL had paid an upfront consideration of N50 billion to acquire 100 percent of the equity of Polaris Bank and had also accepted the terms of the agreement which includes the full repayment of the sum of N1.305 trillion, being the consideration bonds injected."
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