Naira Redesign: ACF calls for extension of deadline, says rural dwellers unaware of new notes

Kano State Chapter of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) on Saturday, called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to extend the deadline for the return of the old naira notes to help rural communities who are are unaware of the redesign of the currency.

The ACF’s spokesperson, Bello Galadanci, in a statement to reporters in Kano, said the government should always consider democratic governments are about the people who in the first instance brought them to power.

The ACF also stands with the Sultan of Sokoto, Abubakar Sa’ad, who earlier blamed poor sensitisation, and engagement of the traditional institutions before embarking on the currency swap at the rural communities.

The forum alleged that the currency redesign has been sabotaged by Nigerian banks. It blamed the CBN for not engaging critical stakeholders before embarking on the exercise.

“Arising from the confusion emanating from almost all the nooks and corners of our Great Fatherland since the announcement by Nigeria’s apex bank, the CBN in the last quarter of 2022, it has become imperative for all patriotic citizens including leaders, professional groups, farmers, traders, civil society and all persons of goodwill to review the development accordingly.

“As a cultural, non-partisan and non-political voluntary organization with a focus on the immediate aspirations and greater interests of our communities, ACF, Kano State Chapter has found it expedient to join the strident calls by Eminent persons and institutions for an amicable solution to the apparent stalemate.

“We believe legitimate reasons exist for the authorities concerned to shift the deadline from January 31 2023 in the greater interest of the majority of our people, particularly communities with no banking facilities and others ravaged by the incessant insecurity.

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“While we believe the President might have good intentions for the currency swap, the banks have not helped the process.

“Right from day one, Nigerian banks had shown lethargy in complying with the plans of the apex bank, the CBN as their regulator. Their posture suggested they were not part of the scheme. A few days before the deadline, our ATMs continued to dispense old notes while the regulator kept making allegations the banks were not picking up the new notes.

“Overwhelming evidence suggests the non-availability of the new notes in key commercial centres of the federation. The ugly scenario has cast doubts about the genuineness and practicability of the January 31 deadline.

“ACF Kano State calls on the Federal Government, particularly the two chambers of the National Assembly, to prevail on the authorities at the CBN to save us from a catastrophe that may engulf the nation, as the CBN’s hard-line stance is seemingly an act that may plunge our lives into an avoidable disaster.

“In most urban and rural areas, ATMs are no longer dispensing cash; those that do dispense old notes. Presently, the old notes are more in circulation than the new ones, less than 5 days to the decreed deadline. The picture this unhealthy development gives could mean the sensitization campaign on the new currency notes had not been effective.

“Hear what His Eminence, the Sultan remarked when the CBN Comptroller in charge of Sokoto went to brief him on the new currency regime.

“We still have people who didn’t know that our Naira was redesigned. They could reject the new Naira notes when given. The CBN ought to have considered stakeholders ( traditional rulers) right from the day the redesign was announced.

“We have credible means to step down the information to the common man because the conventional media is for the elite.”

“ACF Kano re-echoes the revered traditional ruler’s position. We salute him, other community leaders and the NASS for their doggedness It is very clear, large sections of the populace particularly our local traders and business premises, farmers and artisans have been expressing fears about losses. Unlike the bitterness, hardship and suffering that accompanied the 1984 currency swap under military dictatorship, Nigeria is thankfully now under democracy.

“Democratic governments are about the people who in the first instance brought them to power. The nation must avoid a statement”, the ACF’s official statement said.