I'm Not Happy, Nigerians Need Cash Now – Osinbajo

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has expressed his concern over difficulty experienced by Nigerians in getting the new naira notes.

The Vice President, on Friday, in Abuja met with some players in the FinTech space to explore possible ways of mitigating the hardship.

VP Osinbajo urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and banks to deploy more FinTechs and money agents to the hinterlands to address the worrying situation. The Vice President stated that Nigerians need cash to pay for transport, food, and other needs.

“In Abuja how do you take ‘drop or along’ or use a Keke NAPEP without cash, or buy foodstuff on the road or in canteens, or even buy recharge cards?

“Parents with kids in public schools give money daily to their children for lunch, most commerce is informal, so you need cash for most things”, he said.

Osinbajo said it was disturbing that after depositing old notes, there are no new notes: “People everywhere in the urban areas and rural areas simply have no money.”

The nation’s second-in-command observed some FinTechs have mobile money licenses and should be engaged immediately.

He said many of them have micro-finance bank licenses and already have a network of mobile money agents or human banks or human ATMs, as they are sometimes.

“They can supervise by themselves. They can do currency swaps and open bank accounts.”

Buhari Asks Nigerians To Give Him 7 Days To Resolve Naira Notes Scarcity

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).

We Have Cash In Forest, Give Us More Time On Naira Redesign - Miyatti Allah

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.”

Naira Redesign: See How ISWAP Abandons Naira, Taxes Farmers, Traders In CFAs

The Shura Council of the Islamic State of the West African Province (ISWAP) has banned naira as a means of transaction for the illegal tax it collects from peasant farmers and fishermen.

This is as a result of the Nigerian government’s move to redesign and reissue higher denominations of its currency.

According to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), N200, N500, and N1000 notes will be reissued this Year, by December and by January 31,2023, the old notes will cease to be legal tender.

It was gathered that this move threw the ISWAP population in the Tumbus of Lake Chad into confusion.

According to the Zagazola Makama, a Counter Insurgency Expert and Security Analyst in the Lake Chad region, the insurgents switched to the West African CFA as currency of trade in the area.

ZagaZola claimed that the terrorists had also banned all Nigerian fishermen, herdsmen and farmers from sneaking into the Lake Chad through Marte, Abadam, and Gamborun Ngala in order to prevent the naira from reaching into the camps of the terrorists in the Lake Chad.

Ibn Umar and Malam Ba’ana, the ISWAP Militant Commanders in charge of taxes and levies, who imposed the ban, said the people were only allowed to come through safe routes established by the terror group – Bulgaram, Cikka, Guma, Maltam, Doron Liman and Ramin Dorina villages in Cameroon Republic.

In exchange, ISWAP collects 1,500 West African CFA Francs, monthly taxes from the people who appear very willing to pay.

Naira Redesign Won't Allow Politicians To Sponsor Thugs – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari says there is no going back on the planned redesign of the N1,000, N500 and N200 bank notes, adding that politicians won’t be allowed to mobilise resources and thugs to intimidate voters in the 2023 general elections.

Buhari made this known on Wednesday in an interview in the United Kingdom after meeting with His Royal Majesty, King Charles III in Buckingham Palace.

President Buhari With UK Monarch- King Charles III

During the visit, President Buhari said he told King Charles III he has no house in the UK.

Buhari also said enough time has been given by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for Nigerians to deposit the present naira notes at banks in exchange for the newly redesigned ones which will be issued by December 15, 2022.

“On this change of currency, there will be a lot of money but time has been given from October to December, three months is enough for whatever money you have, to get it changed through the legal system.

“So, I don’t know why people are complaining about it,” the President said.