Allow old, new notes coexist, APC Govs beg Buhari

Governors elected on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC) have appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to allow the old and new naira notes co-exist to ease the suffering of Nigerians.

Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai, who spoke to some journalists in Hausa language on Friday, said that while the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) mopped up over N2 trillion of the old notes, it printed only N300 billion, which he said is not enough.

El-Rufai, who was accompanied by his Kano counterpart, Abdullahi Ganduje, said even if the CBN had wanted to implement the cashless policy, it should have printed half of what it mopped up, for a start, which ought to be N1 trillion.

He said they told the President the masses are suffering and traders are losing their goods due to lack of patronage.

He referred to tomato sellers that travelled to Lagos with their goods but got nothing because people had no money to buy.

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The Governor said they appealed to the President to reconsider his stances.

El-Rufai however said Buhari did not tell them yes or no.

Meanwhile, President Buhari has appealed to Nigerians to give him seven days to resolve the lingering cash crisis causing economic havocs and heating up the polity.

The President also blamed the escalating cash crisis on banks, expressing doubts about their commitment to the success of the policy.

A statement by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, after the meeting noted the cash crunch has become a problem across the country from the policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to change high value naira notes with new ones.

Buhari said the currency redesign 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,” the President said, “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, assurrig that the balance of seven of the 10-day extension will be used to crackdown on whatever stood in the way of successful implementation.