Nigerians rejecting old N500,N1000 notes , say " Buhari has not spoken".

 

Nigerians are rejecting the old N500 and N1000 notes and thier reason is that neither the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN nor president Muhammadu Buhari has spoken concerning the Supreme court judgment for the old N500 and N1000 notes to remain legal tender till December 31st 2023. 

Since on Monday, banks in Ibadan Oyo state have been paying customers over the counter with the old N500 and N1000 notes. Also, bank ATMs have been dispensing the old N500 and N1000 notes. However, instead of this move to serve as a relief for Nigerians who have been going through difficulty to get cash, it has turned out that the silence of president Buhari and the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN has resulted to fear over the use of the old N500 and N1000 notes.

A visit to Zenith Bank at Osuntokun Avenue in Ibadan shows the bank is urging customers who had trooped to the bank to collect N500 notes but some of the customers said they have been unable to spend old N500 and N1000 notes , therefore they cannot collect the money.

One of the customers who requested anonymity said " I have N1000 old note. I boarded a commercial bike to the bank but the okada rider refused to collect the N1000 note I gave him. He said he cannot collect it because President Buhari has not spoken concerning the old notes the supreme court judgment gave . Now I'm in the bank to withdraw money and they are telling me it's old N500 notes they will pay me with. I don't know what to do now. I'm confused". 

Another resident Amos Lanre said " I withdraw old N2000 from Access bank ATM and spending it has become a problem. People are rejecting the money and banks are not taking it back when you want to deposit the old N500 and N1000 notes. President Buhari should please speak about the money so that we can be sure that they are legal tenders. Also, why are the banks refusing to collect the old N500 and N1000 over the counter? There is alot of confusion at the moment which is further causing pains to Nigerians because I don't know why a government will discard a particular currency and later that currency will be reintroduced ". 

This correspondent attempted to purchase a bottle of soft drink with the old N500 note but the seller rejected the money. 

She said " I can't collect the old N500 note from you. President Buhari has not spoken that we should start using the money. It is not my fault. I can start collecting it but what if president Buhari speaks tomorrow and says the N500 and N1000 notes are not legal tender? President Buhari has gone against the Supreme Court before and who knows if he will not do same again". 

Another resident Olarawaju Nathaniel said " I withdraw N5000. I was paid with old notes. People are collecting the old N500 notes from the banks but spending the money is not easy. People are rejecting it in the market. I don't understand our problem. We are crying for cash now cash has been released but people are rejecting it. What an irony. They are saying that president Buhari must speak before they will start collecting and spending the old notes. Is it not banks that are dispensing the old N500 and N1000 notes? The money is from CBN so why will the money still be rejected and considered illegal money by people? I understand the plight because when the CBN initially told Nigerians to return the old notes, people went through hell and spent extra money to return the old notes. The issue is that Nigerians are scared as this CBN has become unreliable. People no longer trust them".