SOME residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have expressed worry as traders and Point-of-Sale (PoS) operators are rejecting old naira notes.
The residents, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday, said they were not happy over the development.
Ms Janet Aondo, a customer, who was spotted at Karu with the old N1000 note, said she was frustrated. Aondo said she came out to get snacks for her children to take to school but was told that she could only make payment with the new naira notes.
She said it was worrisome that people had begun to reject the old notes. According to her, she expects that the rejection of old notes will begin from January 31, as announced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Another customer, who pleaded anonymity, said she was turned down by a PoS agent when she went to deposit the old naira notes.
“The agent imputed the amount and recipient’s number but the moment I brought out old notes, he said; ‘Madam we have stopped collecting old notes.’ I tried explaining to him that the deadline is January 31, but he was adamant.
“I had to use other PoS and what I did was to wait till the transaction was successful before I brought out the money and luckily the agent collected it. As I speak with you, I am going to ransack my house for any of those old notes and make sure I spend all of them today.’’
NAN Correspondent, who went round some motor parks within the FCT discovered that while some drivers were still accepting old notes, others were rejecting them.
The NAN correspondent also inquired why people had started rejecting old notes when the deadline was still four days away.
Some respondents said they heard of long queues in banks and would not want to go through the rigours. Mr Peter Akpan, a taxi driver, said although he was losing customers, he did not mind.
Meanwhile, long queues were seen in banking halls and Automated Teller Machines (ATM) within the FCT.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, had fixed January 31, 2023 as deadline for the return of old N200, N500 and N1000 banknotes. The governor also announced that the deadline was sacrosanct.
The development has continued to generate reactions from Nigerians as there have been calls for extension of the deadline.
The Senate and House of Representatives have also called for extension of the deadline. (NAN)
