Peter Obi Talks Poor Implementation of New Naira Notes 

Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour party, has shared his thoughts on the naira scarcity in the country. Obi who stated that improvements could have been made in implementing the new currency explained that the redesign of the naira is not peculiar to Nigeria alone. 

Obi’s thoughts were contained in a statement issued on February 5, 2023, and made available on his official Twitter account. In the statement, the Labour party presidential candidate pleaded with Nigerians to bear with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Government over the current scarcity of the newly redesigned naira. 

The former Anambra governor further expressed hopes that the naira reforms which come with some inconveniences and discomfort, will soon benefit the general public. Obi said “It is an exercise that comes with some inconvenience and pain but it has significant long-term economic and social benefits. Even though there are improvements that can be made.”

Also, Obi charged the CBN to mop up efforts and make the redesigned currency available to small depositors. He further added that the availability of the new notes will help reduce the pains of the unbanked, “especially the underprivileged and those living far away from banks in the rural areas.”

How the naira redesign started

On October 26, 2022, The CBN announced plans to redesign the three banknotes. After the announcement, the redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 notes were unveiled by the President, Muhammadu Buhari on November 23, 2022.  As a result of these, the apex bank fixed a 31st of January deadline for the validity of the old notes. The deadline was extended to the 7th of February, 2023, after Nigerians reacted to the lingering scarcity of both old and new notes.

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