The Central Bank of Nigeria CBN has been urged by leaders of Nigerian Labour Congress to reconsider its decision on the deadline for the change of old currency to new noted as fixed for 31st of January, 2023.
The NLC in a press statement made available to newsmen by Comr. Amechi Asugwuni, the Deputy President of the union as read in part:
“It has been widely reported that the new momentary policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria to terminate the use of old currency note in Nigeria come 31st January 2023, is still a strange news to Nigerians in the rural areas, especially the petty traders and farmers.
“This has made compliance impracticable in those areas and would constitute a serious threat to their living standards.
“The CBN Governor should as a matter of professionalism and sense of responsibility be reminded that there are some LGAs in Nigeria that do not have a single bank in operation and as such making it almost impossible for a farmer to transport to the state capital for banking transactions considering the high cost of transportation, illiteracy, and lack of social exposure in the rural areas.
“Therefore, it has become imperative for CBN to defer the date, to allow for proper review and broad orientation through community leaders via Traditional Rulers to help inform their subjects of the need to slowly make payments with old currency notes and receive the new currency notes for their transactions going forward.
“Change of currency note policy does not invalidate the old currency note in circulation. As we speak most people in some states have no access to the new currency note, talk more of complying to the daily withdrawal limit. You don’t cut off deposit of old currency note the same day commercial banks are advised to stop the issuance of same old notes.
Let the banks withhold issuance of the old currency notes first and then slowly allow the public to return theirs. Laws are not made to punish the masses but to improve their quality of lives”.