This weekend – Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th February 2023 – turned out to be sane couple of days, compared with the day before, when all hell seemed to be breaking loose in the implementation of the Nigerian Naira redesign policy.
Friday can best be described as a day of confusion in the current Naira swap programme. No one in the banking industry was sure which ‘CBN’ notice was the right one and if they were really coming from the apex bank.
One legal analyst on TV described the situation as “Fuji House of Commotion”.
For those who cannot remember or were not around then, Fuji House of Commotion is a Nigerian family-oriented Sitcom of the early 2000s and it was the story of a dysfunctional family of a man, Chief Fuji, his three wives and a concubine, with numerous children. all with their own load of loud and crazy manners which created a continuous chaotic home-setting akin to the Tower of Babel.
Produced and directed by Amaka Igwe, the show featured actors like Kunle Bamtefa as Chief Fuji, Toun Oni as Mama Moji, Ngozi Nwosu as Peace, Louisa Onu as Ireti, Ireti Doyle as Caro, Jude Orhoha as Gbenro, John Njamah as Rabiu, and Chika Chukwu as Jumoke among others.
Although Chief Fuji seemed to have devised some way to keep his large and maladjusted family in check and running daily, the same cannot be said about the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria in the management of this Naira swap.
Friday was indeed a Fuji House of Commotion. While Nigerians were hungry for information on next steps, there was indeed information, but ‘conflicting’ would be a mild word.
Banks tried to quickly react or respond to the different notices they received and it was clear their communications teams and digital platforms operators were on their toes all the time to catch up. In the process, some banks were responding and re-responding to what they thought were messages from CBN.
Banks, by the nature of their business, are usually conservative establishments and they would tend to be more careful in checking and cross-checking circulars and notices from regulatory bodies and others. We are yet verify whether the pressures of the moment stampeded such banks to respond to what they believed were authentic CBN directives or whether CBN tried to cover up some errors in their communication, thereby confusing the banks and the public and further using the media and banks as scapegoats in the ongoing drama.
Someone late Friday morning had sent what was titled “Extract from the Banker’s Committee meeting held today on the Naira Redesign Policy”, with the following directives:
- The old N200 will still be legal till April 10th
- The old N200, the new N500 and the new N1000 will continue to be in circulation till 10th of April 2023.
- The old N500 and the N1000 can be deposited into commercial banks just once within the 60-day extension.
- A new App will be developed by CBN to enable customers make the one off deposit within the extended 60 days.
Then followed several videos showing mammoth crowd at the CBN Regional Office off the Marina in Lagos where huge crowd of people were milling around ostensibly to deposit their old notes. It was scary and I am sure the apex bank and the whole industry would have been apprehensive.
It was therefore not surprising that a notice purportedly from CBN was circulated and deposit banks quickly started sending out messages to their customers via the email, mainstream and social media to the effect that CBN has changed course.
The content of the notice they were responding to was to the effect that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had directed banks to start collecting the old N500 and N1,000 notes from the public with immediate effect. The maximum amount the banks can collect is N500,000 per customer. The CBN was said to have maintained that the old currencies were no more legal tender, but it basically meant the CBN was ordering the banks to collect the monies instead of the customers going to the CBN office, following difficulties encountered in getting access to the bank. Customers were advised to go to their banks but fill out the form on the CBN portal before they go and provide the reference code generated. With the code, banks were expected to collect the old currency, as long as it is not more than N500,000, in which case they will have go to the CBN and deposit it.
When this information came out, there was already jubilation by those who took the FG to the Supreme Court that they had succeeded because that is what this purported notice seem to imply.
Many banks had also started sending messages to customers to bring their 500 and 1000 Naira notes.
But such glory was punctured by a strongly worded statement from the CBN, refuting media reports that it had authorized the to collect the old N500 and N1,000 banknotes from customers and members of the public.
CBN’s Director of Corporate Communications, Mr. Osita Nwanisobi, said in a statement that: “The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria has been drawn to some fake and unauthorized messages quoting the CBN as having authorized the Deposit Money Banks to collect the old N500 and N1,000 banknotes”, stressing that for the avoidance of doubt, and in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s broadcast on February 16, 2023, the CBN had been directed to only reissue and re-circulate the old N200 banknotes as legal tender for 60 days up till April 10, 2023.
He advised: “Members of the public should therefore disregard any message and/or information not formally released by the Central Bank of Nigeria on this subject. Media practitioners are advised to please, verify any information from the correct sources before publication.”
With all the Babel, there is no doubt that there has been a lot of confusion in managing information on this project and everyone has abandoned all tenets of good public information management. The media and banks are also guilty of this as many of them seem to be depending on social media for information on something as delicate as this, with all the pressures and heat it has put on the polity. There are definitely and seriously lots of issues to manage around this Naira redesign project which is an ongoing and fluid situation capable of tearing the country, states, families and even friendships apart.
I am sure that the drama will continue on Monday, as it is still difficult to know what to do for those depositing or accepting the old notes.
Some nagging questions are: “Has the CBN sent out the old 200 Naira notes as directed by the President? How much has been disbursed and how far can it go? How is the Federal Government managing the decision by some governors who have asked their state citizens to continue to do business with all the old notes and ignore the directives from the President and CBN?”
This week promises to be a defining one on this matter, what with the Supreme Court expected to come up on Wednesday 22nd February with its decision on the suit filed by some States against the Federal Government on the policy and its implementation.
