Scarcity Of New Naira Notes Affects Trading Activities in Kwara Markets

Lawrence Afolabi

Some traders who spoke with Radio Nigeria correspondents complained bitterly that it has been difficult getting goods from farmers as many of them refused to accept the old naira notes, despite the extension of the deadline for the withdrawal of the old naira notes.

One of the traders, Mr Abdulganiu Adesina, said that the new naira notes are insufficient and are affecting their businesses as they are no longer able to buy and sell easily.

Mr Abdulganiu appealed to the Federal Government to provide sufficient new naira notes to relieve the sufferings of the masses.

Alhaji Abdullateef who is also a trader at the Ipata market called for another extension of the deadline to be long enough for the new currencies to be sufficient in circulation.

Abdullateef said the 10 days extension earlier given by the Central bank would make no difference, because most Nigerians, especially, those outside major cities and rural areas have neither seen nor handled the new naira notes.

Another trader at the same market, popularly known as Iya Nigeria Onisu, said both buyers and sellers are passing through a lot of stress and hunger due to insufficient new naira notes.

Iya Nigeria said the situation has become very critical as the old one thousand, five hundred and two hundred naira notes are being rejected, and the new naira notes of the same denomination mentioned above are out of sight.

Meanwhile, the long queues at banking halls and ATMs within Ilorin, Kwara State capital, for deposit and withdrawal of the old and new naira notes keep getting longer.

Some of those at the ATM point who spoke with Radio Nigeria lamented that the situation is getting out of hand, as, most of the ATMs are not dispensing cash, while the few machines dispensing are besieged with large crowds of people.

investigation reveals that most people get to the banking halls and the ATM points very early in the morning, even before the official opening hours of banks.

The few ones that were fortunate to make withdrawals from the machines said they are limited to withdrawing ten thousand naira when using a machine owned by a different bank than their banker, while those using their banker’s ATM can withdraw a maximum of just twenty thousand naira per day.

It was also gathered that the large crowd in banking halls and ATM points in Ilorin, may be due to the lack of functional commercial banks in other major cities in the state, such as Omuaran, Share, and Babaloma among others and parts of Kwara North where numbers of functional commercials banks are limited, due to incessant attacks by gunmen.