In his nationwide broadcast on Thursday, President Muhammadu Buhari disobeyed a Supreme Court order on the continued use of old naira notes.
Despite admitting the difficulties that the new currency policy is causing Nigerians, he only approved the continued use of N200 notes as legal tender across the country.
He said the old N200 will exist alongside the new N200 notes as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will continue to mop up the old N500 and N1,000 still in the hands of Nigerians.
Battabox reports that the scarcity of naira notes has stifled economic activities. Point of Sale (PoS) operators across the country have also raised charges on transactions by 300 percent.
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One of the regulations instituted by the CBN is that new notes should only be issued through ATM machines, not over the counter and a limit of 20,000 naira per day has been set.
The apex bank explained that it is empowered by the CBN Act of 2007 (as amended) to manage the country’s legal tender currency – Naira, Kobo, and eNaira in such a manner.
Meanwhile, there is growing unrest across Nigeria following the cash crunch caused by a scarcity of new-design naira notes
SEE: New Naira wahala: Nigerians war fiercely in banks to exchange old notes
On Feb. 3, protests broke out in parts of Ibadan as youths trooped out to express their displeasure at the scarcity of the new notes. There were clashes in the streets between the youths and security operatives. One person was shot dead in the process.
Adewale Osifeso, the police spokesperson in the state, said “during the rage, an individual identified to have been a member of a vigilante group and who was reported to have died in the fiasco has since been deposited at a government hospital for post-mortem.”
On Feb. 7, many bank workers had to flee their offices as they feared being targeted. While ATMs were vandalized, one bank branch was set on fire. One person was also shot during the violent protest.
On Feb. 15, there was palpable tension in some parts of Delta State, as protesters took to the streets to protest the scarcity of the new naira notes and the rejection of the old notes in the state.
There were heavy gunshots by soldiers and policemen drafted to protect several banks in the areas. Three people were reportedly killed.
Rather than speak on the violent attacks and protests occasioned by naira scarcity hardship, Buhari simply blamed “unscrupulous” officials in the banking industry for being “inefficient”.
