Naira Redesign: Don’t succumb to blackmail, address hardship of Nigerians – Atiku to CBN

The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) not to succumb to blackmail.

Atiku charged CBN to immediately review the measures it has put in place for ensuring the seamless circulation of the new naira notes to alleviate the hardship confronting ordinary people across the country, especially rural dwellers, who need cash for their daily transactions.

Atiku in a statement by his media office, in Abuja on Wednesday, commended the CBN for listening to the demand of the ordinary people by granting a ten-day extension for the exchange of the old naira notes for new ones.

The former Vice President charged CBN not to consider further extension after February 10 so as not to destroy the purpose and objective of initiating the redesigning of the currency.

The statement read “The additional ten days will enable our people in the rural areas and ordinary people across the country to take the naira in their possession into the banks. It will also enable the CBN to further circulate the new currency notes among banks so that people can have easy access.

“Within these ten days, I urge the CBN to initiate measures that will alleviate the problems being encountered by the people in exchanging their old naira notes for new ones and getting more new notes into circulation. The CBN may have to consider printing more currency notes to eliminate the current scarcity among ordinary people, especially rural dwellers who need them for their daily transactions.

“If the CBN thinks its officials and banks must operate at the weekend to address the needs of the ordinary people and rural dwellers, it may have to consider this option, after all the amount these people require is not huge. The essential element here is ensuring that the new currency goes around and is well distributed to the points where people can easily access them. Every good policy must be people-centred and must not bring an avoidable difficulty to the people.

“However, the CBN should be wary of the elite whose motive for crying out about more postponement of the deadline for the tenure of the old naira notes is sinister and far from being altruistic. I am totally in support of building a cashless economy and reducing the amount of cash in our economy.

“The cashless policy and reduction of the cash in circulation has many advantages and every patriotic Nigerian should support the CBN on this. It will help to reduce the flow of illicit funds in our economy. It will help to defeat the funding of terrorism and deter the circulation of drug money in our economy. It will help our fight against corruption