The presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has expressed support for the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) currency swap policy.
Recall that the Godwin Emefiele-led CBN had announced that the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes would cease to be legal tender on January 31, 2023, to be replaced by redesigned notes of same denominations.
The deadline was extended to February 10, 2023, after a widespread outcry.
Many Nigerians kept vigil at ATM points and spent endless hours in banking halls in their bid to withdraw the redesigned notes that most said were in short supply.
As tensions spiked in many parts of the country over the situation, some governors elected on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) visited the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Friday to urge President Muhammadu Buhari to order the CBN to postpone the deadline to December 2023.
In a short statement on Sunday, Obi said that while the currency redesign policy has come with some inconvenience, it has economic and social benefits in the long run.
He, therefore, called on Nigerians to support its implementation.
However, he urged the CBN and commercial banks to make the new currency available to small depositors and unbanked to reduce their pains.
Obi said, “The currency redesign is not peculiar to Nigeria. It is an exercise that comes with some inconvenience and pain but it has significant longterm economic and social benefits.
“Even though there are improvements that can be made, I urge Nigerians to bear with the CBN and Federal Government with the hope that the general populace and Nigeria will harvest the gains that will come with the reforms.
“We equally implore the CBN and the banks to expedite efforts to make the new currency available to small depositors and the unbanked in order to reduce the pains of my fellow Nigerians, especially the underprivileged and those living far away from banks in the rural areas.”
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