State governments have directed police commands to begin clamping down on traders and supermarkets accused of rejecting the old naira notes.
Findings by The PUNCH on Sunday indicated that the authorities in Kano, Sokoto, Katsina, Bayelsa, Zamfara and Kwara states had issued directives to security agencies to deal with anyone who turned down the old N1000, N500 and N200 notes.
The development was sequel to the confusion caused by the failure of the Central Bank of Nigeria to issue directives to commercial banks on the extension or otherwise of the February 10 deadline for the currency swap following last Wednesday’s Supreme Court ruling restraining the FG from enforcing the time limit earlier fixed by the apex bank.
This is as the Catholic Bishops declared the CBN policy as disastrous, stressing that it hasd turned Nigerians to beggars
On Sunday, the Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje directed the acting Chairman of Kano State Consumer Protection Council, Dr Baffa Dan’agundi to shut down Wellcare supermarket for rejecting the old naira notes in violation of the directive of the state government that the currency remains legal tender.
The chairman of the council made the disclosure shortly after shutting down the supermarket, stating that legal action will also be taken against Wellcare Alliance Limited, the owners of WellCare supermarket.
He warned other businesses in Kano that the state government had not banned the use of old naira notes.
He threatened that any shop owner caught rejecting the old notes would be dealt with decisively, according to the dictates of the law.
Meanwhile, the management of Wellcare Alliance Limited has written an apology letter to Ganduje, seeking his immediate intervention to re-open the supermarket.
The letter was titled, ‘A plea for an immediate intervention to re-open Wellcare Alliance Limited and an apology letter.’
It read in part, “Sir, Wellcare has always had an outstanding reputation in the market within the state and beyond, equally has abided by every rule and regulation which directly affects the company or a regulator without hesitation.
“Due to the Federal Government policy on the new naira notes, we gave wrong instructions to our staff that from the 10th day of February 2023 that only the new approved naira notes are to be in circulation.
“On an expansive investigation with our bankers, they declined to receive old naira notes on our behalf, unknown to all parties that the state has a policy that the old notes are to be in circulation. On this basis, we sincerely apologize for our actions and deeply regret any inconvenience this may have caused the state.
“We humbly plead that our business should be re-opened for deserving members of the public as we undertake to receive old notes as valid tender till when the state issues an otherwise directive. Please, do accept our regards and sincere apologies.”
In the same vein, the Katsina state government has warned banks and traders in the state not to reject the old naira notes until the Supreme Court gives a final verdict on the issue.
The state government gave the warning in a statement on Sunday issued by the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Home Affairs, Abdulkarim Sirika.
The government said it had come to its notice that banks and traders in the state were rejecting the old notes from residents, a development it said had led to severe hardships for the people.
The statement read: ‘’It has come to the notice of the state government under the able leadership of the Governor of Katsina State, Rtd Hon. Aminu Bello Masari that banks and marketers are no longer accepting the old naira notes.
“In view of this, His Excellency, the governor has directed that marketers and banks should continue accepting the old naira notes from now to the 15th February 2023 pending the final verdict of the Supreme Court on the matter.”
Meanwhile, Katsina residents have continued to bear the hardship imposed by the non-availability of the new naira notes.
Many ATM points in the state were not dispensing the new notes over the weekend while the few PoS operators still operating charged higher commissions ranging from N150 to N300 per every N1,000 withdrawal.
In Sokoto, the state police command has vowed to deal with anyone rejecting the old notes.
The command’s Public Relations Officer, Sanusi Abubakar, who stated that the force has not received any complaint, however, called on residents to report anyone rejecting the old naira notes to the law enforcement agents in the state.
Abubakar said, ‘’I’m sure you know we can only react if there is a complaint against anyone rejecting the notes but so far, we have not gotten any report of such in the state. I can assure you that we are on top of the situation and we will do the needful if such a report is made.’’
Also speaking on the issue, the Kwara State Police Public Relations Officer, Ajayi Okasanmi, asserted that the police had been given a directive to arrest any individual who sells or buys naira notes in the state.
Responding to an inquiry from The PUNCH, Okasanmi said, “There is a government directive to arrest anyone who messes up the naira notes, buy or sell the notes, but we have not been able to catch anyone in Kwara state. I want to advise people to abide by the government directive on both old and new naira notes so that they would not run foul of the law.’’
To mitigate the difficulties facing the residents, the state government disclosed that it has arranged palliatives to cushion the effects of the fuel scarcity and the currency scarcity in the state.
The Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mallam Rafiu Ajakaye, explained in a statement on Sunday that the palliatives would include cash transfer to widows, pensioners, transporters, marketers, smallholder farmers, and other vulnerable people.
He added that the programme would be carried out by the Kwara State Social Investment Programme for proper coordination and accountability.
He added that the governor had directed KWASSIP to work out the details and deploy the modest support as soon as possible.
The CPS also said that the government would soon deploy free buses along specific students’ routes in the state.
“The governor has also directed the deployment of free buses along specific routes used by students and staff of tertiary institutions in the capital city where the effects of the fuel scarcity have been most pronounced. Further details of this palliative will be released by relevant government departments/committees”, the statement said.
To curb the rising tension over the scarcity of new naira notes, the Bayelsa State Police Command said it had beefed up security around banks and ATM points.
The command warned miscreants against unlawful assembly and violence due to the new naira notes’ crisis.
This was contained in a statement issued by the spokesman for the command, Asinim Butswat.
The Punch
