Residents Cry Out Over Disappearance Of New Naira Notes In Anambra

Barely one month after the reintroduction of old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes, some residents of Anambra have decried the unavailability of the new notes in many banks in the state.

Some of them told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka on Monday that they hardly complete transactions with new naira notes because they were not available.

This is even after the old currencies had been mopped up from circulation by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and unavailable for use by citizens for about two months before they were officially pumped into the system on Dec. 15, 2022.

The residents said it was surprising that they had to return to and rely on the reintroduced old notes because the new notes which were to replace them were not in circulation. NAN Correspondent who monitored the situation reports that cash transactions were largely done with old notes.

Mr James Nnaeto said that he had not been able to withdraw as low as N5,000 new notes from any bank but had regularly been paid in old notes since banks resumed disbursing them. Nnaeto said he had noticed sudden disappearance of the new notes following the reintroduction of the new notes in March.

According to him, we are back to our normal lives, thank God for the return of the old notes. “Apart from when I used old notes to buy new ones and when I paid high charges to get them, I have not seen them again, even the banks are not issuing them”.

Mrs Angela Molokwu, a trader, said she was almost going out of business because of lack of cash. Molokwu said business was gradually regaining stability since the reintroduction of the old notes which had made transactions easy.

”Thank God cash is back, people now use cash to buy what they want but it is with the old notes, I am not seeing the new notes as it should be. If I go to bank for withdrawal, it is the old naira notes they pay me with,” she said 

Prof. Uche Nwogwugwu of the Department of Economics, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka said that CBN naira redesign policy could not be described as economic because it was not planned nor did the outcome result in improved welfare of citizens.

“Money in circulation can never be enough, our economy is growing, so people need more money to transact. The new notes are no where to be found, we have more of old currency today, people are worse off and the way things are going, it is unlikely that the Dec. 31 deadline will be met,” he added.

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