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By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and President Muhammadu Buhari to allow old naira notes to be deposited at commercial banks.
CPPE, in a statement by its Chief Executive Officer, Dr Muda Yusuf, on Sunday, said this is in view of the conflicting directives from the CBN on where to deposit the old notes, which it said “is inflicting additional pains on already traumatised millions of innocent Nigerians seeking to return the old notes.”
Dr Yusuf said that the process of returning the old notes has caused chaos and may be overwhelming for the CBN to manage without affecting the citizens.
He said, “There is only one branch of the CBN office in each state of the federation and the FCT. It is practically impossible for the CBN to manage this process without subjecting citizens to another round of harrowing experience.
“The experience and images and disorderliness of the past few days at the CBN offices graphically illustrates this position.
“We appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari and the CBN to give this process a human face. The agony and trauma inflicted by the entire management of the policy is unspeakable.
“Accordingly, we plead with the CBN to allow the old notes to be deposited at the commercial banks to ease the current pains and ordeal of returning the old notes.
The process should also be simplified to accommodate millions of rural dwellers, the informal sector players, the over 30 million unbanked Nigerians and several millions that are not literate.”
Dr Yusuf added that “The current guidelines which require filling of forms on the CBN portals, generating codes, etc., does not reckon with millions of Nigerians that seek to return their old notes who are not literate, who don’t have access to the internet and who are in very remote locations in various parts of the country.
“They are Nigerians and are entitled to a fair consideration in the implementation process. Most of them are women, microenterprises and small businesses contributing immensely to employment, poverty reduction and social stability at the bottom of the economic pyramid of our country.
“It is bad enough that their lives and livelihoods have been terribly disrupted and disoriented. We plead with the CBN to review its processes in the interest of fairness, justice and social inclusion.”
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