Lagos residents lament banks issuing old notes but refusing to accept them back

BY: News Peddlers 

old Naira notes

Some Lagos residents have expressed regret over collecting the old N500 and N1,000 notes from commercial banks after the Supreme Court upheld their legal tender status until December 31.

In separate interviews, they told journalists that spending the two old notes had been difficult because Nigerians, and even banks, were not accepting the money for daily transactions.

They were also surprised that banks began paying between N5,000 and N10,000 per customer two days after the judgement, compared to N3,000 and N5,000 dispensed from their ATMs during the cash swap period.

Matthew Aburime, a student at Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu, expressed disappointment and stated that he was unable to spend the N10,000 he received from a bank.

"The money is still with me as we speak. "I haven't been able to spend it because I was turned down by a commercial bus driver," he explained.

Mr Aburime urged President Muhammadu Buhari or Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele to make a decision on whether or not to accept it.

A trader, Daniel Okpulonu, lamented the fact that commercial banks warned customers against returning old notes to the bank.

"When I realised that these old notes that I was receiving from my bank were not legal tender was when a bank official announced that people who had received the old notes should not bother bringing it back to deposit, as it would not be acceptable.

"As we speak, I am still going about with the money, looking for where to spend it. "It was all for naught," he said.

A clergyman, Brian Achilefu, believes it is a bad sign when institutions begin to question the Supreme Court's authority.

"The CBN should obey the court's ruling and do what it has ordered so that people and everything can return to normal," he said.

Abimbola Alli, a trader at Okeafa's Jakande Estate Market, told journalists that she only accepts new notes.

She went to the bank with the few old notes she had accepted from her customers, but she was turned away.

"When I couldn't deposit it in my bank and Okada riders refused to accept it, I decided to stop accepting it," she explained.

The Supreme Court ruled on March 3 that old naira notes should be allowed to circulate alongside new notes until December 31.

(NAN)