President Muhammadu Buhari has urged citizens in the country to give him seven days to resolve the cash crunch that has become a problem across the country from the policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria to change high-value Naira notes with new ones.
The President assured Progressives Governors forum who had come to the Presidential Villa to warn that the policy is threatening the good records of his administration in transforming the economy.
President Buhari said the currency re-design will give a boost to the economy and provide long-term benefits while expressing doubts about the commitment of banks in particular to the success of the policy. “Some banks are inefficient and only concerned about themselves”, said the President, “even if a year is added, problems associated with selfishness and greed won’t go away.”
He said he had seen television reports about cash shortages and hardship to local businesses and ordinary people and gave assurances that the balance of seven of the 10-day extension will be used to crackdown on whatever stood in the way of successful implementation.
But the APC Governors are united in their stand against the deadline for fully implementing the Cash Swap policy.
They have brought their protest and resistance to the doorstep of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Some of the Governors even allege that these policies of the CBN are deliberately intended to incite Citizens against the All Progressives Congress and scuttle the party’s chance of winning the ballot.
What the Governors want is a gradual phasing out of the old naira notes, by allowing the old notes to remain legal tender till the end of the year.
The CBN’s insistence on a deadline for the cash swap policy is causing untold hardship for millions of Nigerians.
Videos of Chaotic scenes in Banking Halls, Automated Teller machines, and other points-of-sale outposts have gone viral on social media, depicting the harsh reality of a policy that has now made it difficult to access cash, or even swap the old ones for the new currency.
President Muhammadu Buhari has mixed feelings about this CBN cash swap deadline, He sees the long-term benefits of the policy and believes it will boost the economy.
But again, He understands that corruption and greed in Nigeria’s banking system are stalling the implementation of the policy.
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