Residents and Business Owners in Sokoto Are Concerned About The Lack Of New Naira Notes

The lack of the recently issued N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes has been lamented by several residents of Sokoto State.

Fewer than a week remained until the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) January 31 deadline for the old notes, and some Sokoto residents complained that some local companies, especially commercial transportation, insisted on only accepting the new money.

This has caused some uncertainty among locals, as thousands of people flocked to ATMs on Tuesday in an attempt to obtain the new notes but were unable.

The majority of the city’s ATMs, according to Channels Television, were overloaded and unable to dispense any cash.

Several firms have reportedly closed down, and many tiny traders are complaining about the detrimental effects of the crisis on their operations, leading many households to claim that it has been difficult for them to satisfy their demands.

TAKING OLD BILLS BACK.

Alhaji Aliyu Umar, a resident, lamented the new notes’ limited utility and urged the federal government to extend the deadline since “people are suffering” and cannot buy or sell anything.

Mr. Ibekwe Sam claimed that because many companies are refusing to accept the old currency, it is challenging for someone to utilize it to purchase anything.

“People are refusing to collect it; things are just very hard. If you go to the bank, you can’t access the bank to get your money. Everything is just difficult,” he said.

“If you look at the bank now, you’ll see everywhere crowded, ATMs and so on. If you want to buy something now, somebody will say no that he cannot collect it because he’s not sure of changing it in the bank.

“You go to the bank and you cannot even get the new currency. The new currency is very scarce. I went to the bank the other day to get some money, it was old currency they gave me – about N50,000.”

Read more: CBN: Deadline remains Jan 31 for old naira notes