Nigeria’s Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, has condemned the implementation of the federal government’s currency redesign policy and lamented the hardship it has caused to citizens of the West African nation.
Mr. Osinbajo expressed his views in Abuja at a meeting with players in the financial technology (FinTech) space, his spokesman, Laolu Akande, said in a statement.
“You need money to pay for transport. For example, in Abuja, how do you take a ‘drop or share’ or use Keke NAPEP without cash, or buy food on the street or in a canteen, or even buy a recharge card?
“Parents with children in public schools give their children money every day for lunch, most of the trade is informal, so you need money for many things,” Mr. Osinbajo said.
The Central Bank of Nigeria, with the permission of President Muhammadu Buhari, announced the new policy last October. The central bank announced that the three highest denominations of the naira – N200, N500 and N1,000 – will be redesigned and the old notes will no longer be accepted as legal tender on January 31.
However, the lack of new records led to the delay of the deadline until February 10. The shortage is persistent with residents spending hours queuing at banks and ATMS to access the new notes.
On Friday, President Muhammadu Buhari told the governor-elect on the platform of his party that he is aware of the suffering the policy has caused and will look into the situation if the problem persists at the end of the new deadline,
In his statement, Mr. Akande said the vice president made reference to President Buhari’s comments as an indication that the policy would be reviewed.
Read Mr. Akande’s full statement below.
Concerned by the difficulty experienced by Nigerians to obtain new naira notes, the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo today we meet with some of the players in the FinTech space, exploring ways to ease the pain.
Specifically, he urged regulators and banks to deploy more FinTechs and money agents to the hinterland to address the worrying situation.
According to the VP “you need money to pay for transportation. For example, in Abuja, how do you take a ‘drop or share’ or use Keke NAPEP without cash, or buy food on the street or in a canteen, or even buy a recharge card?
“Parents with children in public schools give money every day to their children for lunch, most of the trade is informal, so you need money for many things,” Mr. Osinbajo said.
During a virtual interactive session with some FinTech investors and ecosystem players, the Vice President said that the Central Bank of Nigeria and commercial banks should partner with all FinTechs that have mobile money agents, not just a few, to achieve this. the most remote place in the country.
According to him, “it seems to me that the bank should be involved with mobile money operators – FinTechs with mobile money licenses and many who have microfinance bank licenses now and already have a network of mobile money agents or human banks or human ATMs (as they are sometimes called) that are responsible for he and can monitor himself.He can do currency swaps and open bank accounts.
The vice president spoke like the president in a meeting with some governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the Presidential Villa, assuring the nation that the challenges have been addressed and will be resolved soon.
Also Read: New Naira Notes: Wike criticizes CBN, says policies fail to fight corruption
Speaking further on some of the concerns that have arisen from the redesign of the new naira notes, the VP stated that “what is more troubling is the fact that after disposing of the old notes, there are no new notes, so people everywhere in urban and rural areas just don’t have money. .”
The vice president admitted that “there are logistical challenges that must be addressed by the CBN and banks, especially from the point of view of the average Nigerian and those in the hinterlands who hardly use electronic platforms.”
He also observed that while there was a certain level of failure in online banking and money transactions, it is now becoming more difficult due to the increasing number of transactions blocking the system.
His words: “So where you use POS or any electronic platform, you may have a failure rate of 20%-30%, now because everyone is trying to enter the platform, obviously, the failure rate is more. the problem is more obvious. “
He thanked the participants in the meeting for their commitment and contribution, stating that “you have expressed all your thoughts about what is happening, our country just needs to have the quality of advice that I received, now.
“We really need to move forward even as we work through some of the issues we’re facing right now.”
In separate comments, some players gave important advice on how to deal with the current situation in the country and provide support to the government at all levels with the necessary expertise to overcome the congestion.
He suggested that USSD charges and data charges should be reduced, while the regulator should remove the floor price and asked to remove choke points in online transactions by cutting some technical procedures.
Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
February 3, 2023
Support journalism integrity and credibility PREMIUM TIMES
Good journalism costs a lot of money. But only good journalism can guarantee the possibility of a good society, responsible democracy, and transparent government.
For continued free access to the best investigative journalism in the country, we ask that you consider making a modest contribution to this noble effort.
By contributing to PREMIUM TIMES, you help keep journalism relevant and ensure it remains free and available to all.
contribute
AD TEXT: Call Willie – +2348098788999
