Business

New Naira Notes: Panic, Confusion As Nigerians Count Down To Deadline

Published

3 years ago

January 28, 2023

Across the country, Nigerians are living in uncertain times regarding their money, both the cash at hand and the one they have saved in the banks as the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele insists that the January 31st deadline for the usage of old currency notes remains sacrosanct.

“As things stand, the N200 denomination is scarce. We rely a lot on N200 notes, but we don’t have it. I still have lots of N200 in my box,” Dolapo Michael, a trader in Yaba area in Lagos State, told DAILY POST.

Mrs Michael’s predicament is not in isolation as many Nigerians are faced with uncertainty over the latest policy by the CBN. While the apex bank insisted that the policy is targeted at mopping up cash into the banking sector, however, it has become a political issue.

Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the party’s campaign rally in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, alleged that the policy was targeted at him.

The two chambers of the National Assembly also asked the CBN to as a matter of urgency extend the period by 6 months; however, the CBN boss insisted that there shall be no extension.

Even the threat of a warrant of arrest has not swayed the CBN boss as he shunned the invitation of the House on two occasions.

The lawmakers are insisting that section 20 of the CBN Act mandates commercial banks to continue to accept the old notes even after the expiration of the deadline.

“The House is also aware that Section 20 (3) Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act mandates the CBN to redeem the face value of the recalled currency upon demand, even after the expiration of the notice of recall. Notwithstanding the deadline imposed by the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN), this House will see to it that this provision of the law is honoured in full,” Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of the House said on Thursday.

However, banks have insisted that they will comply with the directive of the CBN on the subject matter.

On Friday, First Bank announced that it will no longer accept the old notes by 1st of February, therefore, urging its customers to take advantage of the weekend to deposit their old currency.

“This is to notify the general public that all our branches will be open on Saturday and Sunday just to receive cash.

“All old Naira notes of series 200, 500, and 1000 will cease to be in use from the 31st of January,” he said.

On Thursday, during a meeting between the banks and the committee of the House, bankers acknowledged that the new notes are not sufficient to meet the demand of Nigerians.

The representative of Sterling Bank, Orlando Umoren informed the lawmakers that the CBN rationed the money to different banks, but it was not sufficient to meet their needs.

He stated that Sterling Bank gets N150 million weekly for its branches in Kaduna, while N100m is shared among all its branches in Kano metropolis.

Also, the representative of Access Bank, Hadiza Ambuza said the bank is only able to disburse 10% of the total money it collects from customers.

“We are paying as much as we get. We are collecting the money and loading it at the ATM as quickly as we get it. Unfortunately, we are not getting them quickly. We have gotten about 10 percent of the total money. That is a challenge that we have. We are doing the best we can up until the deadline,” she said.

Despite the low circulation, the banks are following the directive of the CBN on the deadline.

The House of Representatives has insisted it will suspend its planned recess to address the issue and is willing to issue a warrant of arrest on Emefiele and speak with President Muhammadu Buhari.

Hakeem Liadi, a resident of Isanlu, in Kogi State, told DAILY POST that due to activities of armed robbers along the Kabba-Ilorin road, most banks have shut down and they rely on POS.

“In some instances, POS operators now charge as much as N100 on every N1,000 for Nigerians to get new notes,” Leadi said, adding that “We use POS for our transactions, it is like our own bank. With the rush, POS are also struggling to get the new notes. So, when they charge extra, we cannot complain.”

Lekan Olaleye, an economist, who spoke to DAILY POST, said the policy may be conceived with good intentions, however, the implementation may cause a significant impact on the economy.

“The CBN must understand that Nigeria is far from a cashless economy. Perhaps, they are overestimating data from POS terminals. As it stands, POS in Nigeria are for withdrawal of money not payment for goods. This economy still relies heavily on cash.

“By Monday, most commercial drivers may not want to accept the old note in fear of the deadline, but from findings, the new money is not circulating well enough. The CBN should have used the POS agents to speed up the circulation,” he noted.

When Mr Olaleye was asked about the intent of the CBN to curb kidnapping and vote buying by politicians, he said the mischief the bank seeks to curb may create a bigger problem.

“Poison is not the cure for cancer. Can the banks cope with the demand for money on February 1st? Apart from that, a large percentage of daily transactions still involves cash,” he said.
DAILY POST

Business

Fuel Scarcity Looms As PENGASSAN Stops Gas, Crude Supply To Dangote Refinery

Published

22 hours ago

September 27, 2025

Editor

The industrial dispute between the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria took a dramatic turn on Saturday as the union ordered seven branches to cut off crude oil and gas supplies to the $20bn facility.

In a letter dated September 26 and signed by its General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, the union accused the refinery’s management of sacking its members in retaliation for exercising their constitutional right to join the union.

The union’s move marks an escalation in the standoff, with PENGASSAN accusing the refinery of anti-labour practices and the unlawful sack of its members.

In the directive issued to its branch chairmen, PENGASSAN instructed its branch chairmen in key upstream and midstream oil companies, including TotalEnergies, Chevron, Seplat, Shell Nigeria Gas, Oando, and Nigerian Gas Infrastructure Company, to immediately cut off all crude oil and gas supplies to the refinery.

The directive comes after PENGASSAN alleged that Nigerian workers were sacked by Dangote Refinery after joining the union, claiming that management also withdrew staff buses and denied entry to locals while allowing expatriates access.

The union threatened to picket the refinery if the situation was not addressed.

In a statement on Friday, the refinery clarified that only a small number of workers were affected by what it described as a reorganisation aimed at preventing acts of sabotage within the facility. It said over 3,000 Nigerians remain in employment, rejecting claims of mass layoffs.

Dangote maintained that the restructuring was necessary after what it described as recurring acts of sabotage in different units of the refinery, which posed serious risks to human lives and operations.

As a result, PENGASSAN instructed its branches in TotalEnergies, Seplat, Chevron, Oando, Shell Nigeria Gas, Renaissance, and NGIC to cut gas supply to the refinery immediately.

The union described the move as “illegitimate” and accused the refinery of spreading misinformation instead of addressing the matter through dialogue.

“As you are aware, the Management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery has disengaged our members in reaction to the exercise of their constitutional right to being unionized.

“They have gone further on a mission of misinformation and propaganda to justify this illegitimacy rather than engaging meaningfully with us to right the wrong.

“Consequent to these, you are hereby directed to cut off gas supply to NGIC effective immediately. All crude oil supply valves to the Refinery should be shut. The loading operation for vessel headed there should be halted immediately,” the directive read.

The union further mandated the NGIC Chairman to ensure strict compliance with the order and told all branch chairmen to give regular updates on the action taken.

“NGIC Chairman, ensure that gas supply to the Refinery is cut off effective immediately. All chairmen on this summons are to report promptly the progress of the directive. Kindly accept the assurances of our highest esteem. Thank you,” the statement read.

Reaffirming its solidarity, PENGASSAN ended the directive with its slogan: “Injury to one! Injury to all!”

On Thursday, the company announced it would suspend petrol sales in naira from September 28 following the exhaustion of its crude-for-naira allocations.

Business

Fuel Price Hike Looms As Dangote Refinery Stops Petrol Sales In Naira

Published

1 day ago

September 27, 2025

Editor

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced the suspension of petrol sales in naira, unsettling marketers and raising fresh concerns over fuel pricing and foreign exchange pressure.

In an email sent to customers at 6:42 p.m. on Friday, the refinery said the decision would take effect from Sunday, September 28, 2025, citing the exhaustion of its crude-for-naira allocation as the reason.

The notice, titled “Suspension of DPRP PMS Naira Sales – Effective 28th September 2025” and signed by the Group Commercial Operations of Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals, also asked customers with ongoing naira-based transactions to formally request refunds.

“We write to inform you that Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals has been selling petroleum products in excess of our Naira-Crude allocations and, consequently, we are unable to sustain PMS sales in Naira going forward,” the statement read.

“Kindly note that this suspension of Naira sales for PMS will be effective from Sunday, 28th of September, 2025. We will provide further updates regarding the resumption of supply once the situation has been resolved.

“All customers with PMS transactions in Naira who would like a refund of their current payments should formally request the processing of their refund.”

The move comes amid a raging dispute between the refinery and labour unions over the alleged mass sack of more than 800 Nigerian workers. This controversy has drawn public outrage and calls for government intervention.

This is the second time the refinery has halted local currency transactions. In March 2025, it briefly suspended sales of refined products in naira, blaming inadequate allocations under the crude-for-naira programme.

Business

Naira Appreciates Massively Against US Dollar In The Black Market, Highest In 15 Months

Published

3 days ago

September 25, 2025

Editor

The naira appreciated massively against the United States dollar at the parallel foreign exchange market.

Abubakar Alhasan, a Bureau De Change operator in Wuse Zone, Abuja, told DAILY POST that the Naira strengthened significantly to N1,490 per dollar on Wednesday, up from N1,520 on Tuesday.

“We buy at N1480 and sell at N1490 on Wednesday due to lower FX demand,” Alhasan confirmed to newsmen.

This means that the Naira gained N30 against the dollar on a day-to-day basis.

The last time they were exchanged at this level in the black market was in June 2024.

Meanwhile, at the official market, it dropped marginally by N1.19 to N1,488.56 per dollar on Wednesday, down from N1,487.37, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Analysing the trend at both markets, the difference between official and parallel markets has shrunk to 1.44.

Recall that on Tuesday, the Naira appreciated across official and parallel foreign exchange markets upon an interest rate cut by the apex bank by 50 basis points to 27 per cent.