The deadline for exchanging old naira notes for new ones was extended last Sunday, and traders and commercial tricycle riders in Warri, Delta State, responded. When our journalist visited the artists on Monday, he found a range of emotions among them. While some were happy about the extension, others were not so happy.
The old naira notes quickly recovered relevance in business transactions within 24 hours, despite there being relatively few new naira notes still in use.
This is in contrast to the hurry with which individuals sought to get rid of the old naira notes hours before the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, announced an extension on Sunday at noon.
The commercial tricycle driver expressed his approval of the deadline extension to Mr. Friday Oshokomo.
In the meanwhile, I’m still accepting both the old and new naira notes, at least until the new deadline date, when I’ll be able to save up the new notes.
I’ll go to PoS at the end of each day and transfer all the old naira notes to my account while keeping the fresh ones. I’ve saved up to 12,000 new naira notes in cash just yesterday and this morning,” he admitted.
Another commercial trike rider, Mr. Henry, expressed his agreement with the deadline extension.
“I have no issues with the deadline extension. I’m fine with that, but I wish it hadn’t been since then what would have happened to the Sunday evening earnings and even the ones I have at home?
“I can’t go to the bank because I’ve been so busy with work lately. I still accept the old currency even though I have been getting the new currency for a while. I’ll try to visit the bank on Monday of next week,” he said.
Additionally, our reporter spoke with Mrs. Mercy Ekhator, who sells things including plantains, yams, and other items.
“If the Federal Government wants, they should extend the deadline date or not, I don’t care,” she said. I am cash-strapped.
“I purchase products from my suppliers on credit, and once all of my products have been sold, I use the proceeds to pay my suppliers. I then spend the small profit I make on groceries for my own consumption.
When asked if she accepts the old naira notes and if she has been getting the new notes, Ekhator responded, “I accept all of them and I still use them. I don’t reject the old money.
“Yes, a few people have given me the new notes of the naira, but I don’t save them; I even offer them to customers as change. Since I don’t have a bank account, I don’t care whether the deadline is extended. I don’t bank since I’ve heard that they used to steal people’s money from banks.
Fish is sold by Mrs. Happy Ibeh at Warri’s well-known Igbudu Market. She expressed her joy at the deadline extension. “I was pleased to learn about the extension.
“The old naira notes are mostly in use; I have been getting a few new ones from customers, but not many.
“I don’t reject any of the notes at all; for the moment, I have gathered a few of the new naira notes; I even gather the old naira notes, too; for this weekend, I want my kids to take them to the bank on my behalf.”
However, further investigation revealed that the price of collecting old naira notes through PoS has been inflated, costing N300 for every N5,000.
The lack of old naira notes is cited as the cause, as many people returned them to banks over the weekend in anticipation of the scheduled deadline of Tuesday, January 31, which has since been postponed to February 10.
While this is going on, in Warri and nearby areas, N5000 of the new naira notes may be found at PoS for as much as N700 and N1000.
