From Aloysius Attah, Onitsha

The Coalition of South East Youth Leaders, COSEYL, the apex socio-political youth group in South East geopolitical zone has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Governor Mr. Godwin Emefiele to extend the deadline for the use of old naira notes.

 

President of COSEYL, Goodluck Ibem in a statement released to journalists yesterday in Awka, Anambra State, said the 31 January deadline set by the CBN when there is no new naira notes in circulation amounts to wickedness and a well calculated plot by APC to weaponise poverty as many Nigerians will be poorer given the hard situation..

 

Ibem said the new naira notes introduced by the CBN is a well calculated plot to scam and defraud Nigerians of their hard earned money noting that the ATMs nationwide and banks don’t have the new notes introduced.

 

The group said they are putting the CBN on notice that if it fails to extend the deadline as demanded by Nigerians who are the real owners of Nigeria, they will mobilize Nigerians from the 36 states and the FCT Abuja to embark on a 5 million man protest at the CBN headquarters and will not stop until their demands are met.

 

 

“It is very disappointing to note that over 80% of Nigerian population have not seen the new currency or denomination of the new naira notes and about 50% of Nigerian population in the rural areas have not heard about the new naira notes and some of them in the rural areas who are told about the new naira notes just demise it by a wave of the hand saying how can you use what you have not seen before or heard about before. It is really troubling”

 

“About 90% of the Nigerian commercial banks don’t have the new naira notes in their Banks. The banks ATMs don’t have any money at all in them because of the new directive by the CBN that only new naira notes will be in the ATM machines. So because of the non-availability of the new naira note in their Banks, the ATM machines have been empty for the past one week”.

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“Business men and women have been finding it very difficult to do business or buy basic necessities they need for their day-to-day activities. The banks will not put N100 or N50 in their ATM machines. These denominations have been relegated to the background by banks as they no longer put such denominations of naira notes in their ATM’s machines which have made things very difficult for Nigerians.”

 

“The whole exercise to stop usage of old naira notes when there is no new notes in circulation looks like a well-calculated attempt to impoverish Nigerians so that they will be gullible, poor and hungry during the 2023 general elections which will make them to be easily bribed by the ruling party to vote for their party”.

 

“The 31 January, 2023 deadline by the CBN for the old notes to seize being a legal tender is an easy way to weaponise poverty.

We want the CBN Governor to visit his own village and visit 50 households. He will be shocked to discover that the people have not seen the new notes since it was introduced by CBN.”

 

“We therefore put the CBN on notice that if it fails to extend the deadline as demanded by Nigerians who are the real owners of Nigeria, we will mobilize Nigerians from the 36 states and the FCT Abuja to embark on a 5 million man protest at the CBN headquarters and we will not stop until our demands are met. Enough said!” the statement noted.