Newly Designed Naira Notes Faced With Widespread Rejections as Many Seem Unaware

According to multiple reports, the newly designed naira notes which are gradually going into circulation have been surrounded by tales of widespread rejection.

Some reports reveal that several businessmen and women are reluctant to accept the new notes as legal tender, as they have decided to stick with the old notes pending the deadline given by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to phase out the old notes.

Some have expressed concerns about the authenticity of the new notes, stating that it will be very difficult to identify fake ones.

In a recent viral video, a trader refused to collect the newly designed N1,000 naira note from a customer, insisting that the money is a fake note which is often used by internet fraudsters commonly known as “Yahoo boys”.

The confused customer had to call the attention of passersby to help convince the trader that the money presented to her was legit.

Despite persuasion from onlookers, she remained adamant that she is not familiar with the new note. It however had to take the intervention of a truck driver who called the customer to give him the old note in exchange for the new note.

In another video, a traffic cold drink vendor was reluctant to collect the new naira note from a customer, as he was spotted staring at the new note in awe for a few seconds before rejecting it.

This spurred other passengers in the moving vehicle to convince him to accept it, stating that it was the newly designed naira note. But the hawker persisted that he wasn’t going to accept it. In his words, “No o please, I can’t take the money”.

Reacting to the viral videos, some Nigerians have disclosed that the CBN has failed to conduct a proper sensitization on the introduction of the new notes, which is the reason for the widespread rejection.

Recall that the CBN in October introduced the newly designed naira notes, as the CBN governor Godwin Emefiele disclosed that the introduction of the new Naira banknotes marked a major milestone in CBN’s efforts to solve the numerous challenges facing the management of the nation’s currency.

However, the release of the newly designed notes was followed with mixed reactions as a lot of Nigerians have expressed concerns over the poorly designed note, with a major concern about the circulation of counterfeits.

However, the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari doused the worry of counterfeit notes by stating that the newly redesigned notes have unique security features which makes it difficult to counterfeit.

On the other hand, barely two months and a few days to the January 31, 2023 end date for the high-denomination old bank notes, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have expressed worry over the low response by Nigerians and commercial banks towards the return of the old notes.

The bank director in charge of currency, Ahmed Bello Umar said at a post-Monetary Policy Committee media briefing in Abuja, “Up to now, there is no serious uptick in the deposits that customers are doing”.