The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to give the currency swap process a human face.
In a statement sent to Nairametrics on Sunday, the CPPE Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Muda Yusuf, said the agony and trauma inflicted by the entire management of the policy are unspeakable. He said:
- “Accordingly, we plead with the CBN to allow the old notes to be deposited at the commercial banks to ease the current pains and ordeal of returning the old notes.”
The CPPE’s position: Dr. Muda said the process should also be simplified to accommodate millions of rural dwellers, the informal sector players, the over 30 million unbanked Nigerians, and several million that are not literate.
He noted that the current guidelines which require filling of forms on the CBN portals, generating codes, etc. do not reckon with millions of Nigerians that seek to return their old notes who are not literate, who don’t have access to the internet, and who are in very remote locations in various parts of the country.
Need for a review: He then urged the CBN to review the cash swap process for the sake of the unbanked, many of whom are women whose microenterprises contribute to the economy. He said:
- “We plead with the CBN to review its processes in the interest of fairness, justice, and social inclusion. The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise [CPPE] is concerned about the conflicting directives emanating from the CBN on where to deposit the old currency notes – whether the commercial banks or the Central banks. This confusion is inflicting additional pain on already traumatized millions of innocent Nigerians seeking to return the old notes.
- “Amid the chaos which the badly implemented policy has created, it is evidently impractical for the CBN offices to properly handle this process of receiving old currency notes which are still in abundance in the hands of millions of Nigerians. There is only one branch of the CBN office in each state of the federation and the FCT. It is practically impossible for the CBN to manage this process without subjecting our citizens to another round of harrowing experiences.
- “The experience and images and disorderliness of the past few days at the CBN offices graphically illustrate this position.”
