Some traders have given reasons for rejecting the new naira notes six days after they went into circulation.
Among the reasons given by the traders is the fear of counterfeits, especially now that the notes are not fully in circulation.
Traders explain their concerns: Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), a food vendor at Cele-Egbe bus stop, Alhaja Sofiat Balogun, said she would rather not accept the new notes just yet. She explained why:
- “People say that the money is not fine and they that it is not everywhere yet, I will not accept it until I see that it is fully in circulation. I do not want to start accepting it and when it’s time for me to spend it, it will be difficult for me.
- “And secondly, I have seen on social media a video of a fake new note of N1000, this makes me even more afraid to accept it.”
Mrs Eme Jackson, a fruit seller at Ili-ewe market, Egbe, said the reason she had refused the money is that the notes are too light. She said:
- “I prefer the old notes because it is very durable, no matter how you handle them, they will still remain strong, unlike the new one. “The moment I saw it, I told my children not to accept it, even in my absence.”
Mr Ozuome Benedict, a phone technician, urged the apex bank to do a proper awareness on why they should accept the new notes. He said:
- “I do not have a problem accepting the new notes, the CBN should sensitise the people because so many are not aware that there’s a new note, and that is why it is not accepted.”
CBN’s response to this: To ally this fear of the market women, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday released security features that Nigerians can use to identify the original notes. However, paying attention to those details may not work for market women most of whom transact their businesses in haste.
In case you missed it: The newly-redesigned N1,000, N500 and N200 bills became legal tender on Dec. 15, 2022. The Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, on Oct. 26 announced plans to redesign the denominated notes, saying the old notes would cease to be legal tender by Jan. 31, 2022. He said the reason for the currency redesign was to stop counterfeiting and hoarding.
