The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has expressed dissatisfaction with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s redesign of the naira (CBN)
The new currency, according to the group, is strangling the country’s economy.
NEF urged the CBN to reconsider and postpone the deadline for the exchange of redesigned naira dominance.
NEF insisted that the currency swap did not go as planned in a statement issued by the group’s Director of Publicity and Advocacy, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed.
The currency swap programme has not worked as planned, and it is strangulating economies, communities and the patience of the citizens.
It should be revisited, particularly around its timelines and operations of the CBN and banks. Whatever its benefits, it cannot be of value if it destroys many aspects of the economy, or alienates already hard-pressed citizens further.
The Forum advises a postponement of its deadlines and a major review of the utility of the continued stay of the leadership of the CBN in place.
The Forum warns that Nigerians will not accept to live under any arrangement that offends the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The CBN had set January 31 as the deadline for the discontinuation of the old denominations of N200, N500, and N1000 notes.