Precisely 12 days after the Supreme Court ruled with a tone of finality that the old naira notes must co-exist with the new banknotes until December 31 this year, the Central Bank Of Nigeria, CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele bowed to pressure as he eventually directed banks to adhere strictly to the court ruling.
Emefiele who was initially aloof to the court ruling as Nigerians groaned under severe hardship to access the new naira notes, was reported to have acted in collaboration with the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami.
But fresh facts emerged Monday as reported by the New Diplomat that the duo, Emefiele and Malami were acting on their own as the presidency outrightly denied them in a release by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.
This development compelled the CBN Governor to issue a fresh directive to banks to obey Supreme Court ruling by dispensing the old and New naira notes simultaneously.
Ironically, almost 24 hours after Emefiele’s directive, Nigerians still wallow in penury in search of cash to survive as recalcitrant bank officials still lock customers outside as long queues persist.
Investigations by The New Diplomat, showed that from East to West and South to North the story is the same as cash strapped Nigerians were sighted stranded in queues in banks.
In Kano, Nasiru, a bank customer told The New Diplomat that after seven hours in the queue, his bank gave him a pantry sum of ₦7,000 old naira notes.
Nasiru said that the Automated Teller Machines, otherwise known as ATM were not functional as they couldn’t dispense cash to customers.
In the South South region, long queues are noticed in the banks visited as the ATM machines were not dispensing cash.
In Warri, Delta State, banks dispensed not less than ₦5,000 old naira notes only to customers over the counter.
Rume, a school Teacher, said that most market women even after the CBN directive are skeptical in accepting the old naira notes.
In Benin in Edo State, long queues are still noticeable in the different banks in the city as the ATM machines were not loaded with cash.
In the South East, traders still lament the payment of old naira notes by banks as customers entertain difficult in using them as legal tender.
In Lagos, South West, the ATM machines in banks visited were not functional but customers were attended to over the counter.
A bank customer who gave his names as Yinka Adeosun, said some banks in Ikeja managed to pay ₦10,000 old naira notes to customers.
He lamented that most transport operators refused to accept the old naira notes for service charged.
However, Nigerians were of the hope that the Naira scarcity would fizzled out with the end of the elections.
