The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) has apologised to Nigerians over the cash crunch caused by the naira redesign policy of the Federal Government.
The apology came following the abysmal performance of the ruling All Progressives Congress at Saturday’s presidential and national assembly elections in Kaduna state.
The president also begged the people of Kaduna State to vote for the APC governorship candidate in the state, Senator Uba Sani in the forthcoming election.
According to Buhari, the naira redesign policy is never meant to cause untold hardship to Nigerians.
The President who spoke in a viral video in Hausa, monitored in Kaduna by The Punch on Friday, March 3, 2023, added that the Central Bank monetary policy was meant to enhance the economy and nothing more.
Buhari said, “first of all, I want to once again thank you for the confidence you have in me by electing me president on the platform of our party, the APC.
“I apologize to you for the hardship caused by the change of the Naira. It was done to boost the economy of the country, not to cause hardship to anybody.
“Kaduna is home to me, therefore, I urge you to vote for Senator Uba Sani and all our APC candidates for the state assembly.
“I want to use this opportunity to inform you that Uba Sani is our candidate for the governorship election in Kaduna state. I am begging you to vote for him and all APC candidates for the House of Assembly to help him work.
“Uba is a leading member of this journey. We worked together in the senate and he demonstrated capacity and competence. He will perform better than expected.
“Kaduna is home to me. Therefore, I urge you to vote for Uba Sani and all our APC candidates for the State Assembly.”
Meanwhile, talks were in progress for an alliance between the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, and the Labour Party to wrestle power in Kaduna State.
Felix Hyet, the chairman of PDP in Kaduna State and former minister of aviation, has called on the people of the state to unite and chase out the APC government by voting for the PDP governorship candidate, Isa Ashiru.
It’s Final: ‘Old N200, N500, N1000 Naira Notes Have Ceased To Be Legal Tender’ – CBN Insists
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has declared that the old N200, N500 and N1000 have ceased being legal tender since February 10, 2023.
CBN had originally fixed January 31 as deadline for old notes to be in circulation but extended it in response to pressure from Nigerians.
However, before the February 10 deadline, Kogi, Kaduna and Zamfara States approached the Supreme Court, seeking that the CBN be restrained from going ahead with the deadline.
The Court answered their prayer and adjourned the case till February 15.
However, there has been silence on the part of the apex bank since the court gave its ruling.
The silence threw Nigerians into confusion on the state of the old notes, which were widely rejected but accepted in some places.
Commenting on the development in a chat with journalists, CBN Branch Controller in Bauchi, Haladu Idris Andaza, said the old notes were no longer legal tender.
“In the last 24 hours, we have been inundated by questions from various angles of the general public about our operational guidelines on the old currency notes, be that as it may, there are so many questions here and there which people have been asking about.”
“So for the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state categorically that CBN is ready and is opened to receive all of those old notes based on certain conditions and criteria. Customers are free to come to the Bank and deposit which they cannot do at the Commercial Banks anymore because the currency has seized to be a legal tender since the 10th of this month.
“Consequently, the management of the CBN decided that those customers will have a sigh of relief by coming to the offices of the CBN in all the 36 states in the Federation including FCT to deposit their money.
“The customer has to go to the CBN portal and fill a form in the portal, there will be a form there concerning this currency redesign and exchange. After filling the form, you generate a code, you either print it or come with it in your mobile phone, give us the code and the information contained therein. In the form, you are expected to provide all the basic information about yourself, your account details, and the amount you want to deposit.”
“By the time you have done it correctly, you come to the CBN where the code will be accepted from you as well as the money, process and confirm the genuineness or otherwise of the money to avoid receiving fake notes because there are some fake notes in circulation now.”
