President Muhammadu Buhari (file photo)
‘I will revert to the CBN and the Minting Company. There will be a decision one way or the other in the remaining seven days of the 10-day extension’
By Valentine Amanze
President Muhammadu Buhari has called on Nigerians to give him seven days to resolve the cash crunch that has threatened to collapse the nation’s economy.
Buhari was reacting to the excrutiating pains unleashed on Nigerians by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) changing the colour of the currency (Naira), and inability to access their money trapped in commercial banks as a result of the policy.
Addressing the Progressive Governors Forum which came to the Presidential Villa on the issue on Friday,
Buhari said that the currency re-design would give a boost to the economy and provide long-term benefits.
He also expressed doubts about the commitment of banks in particular to the success of the policy.
“Some banks are inefficient and only concerned about themselves”, the president said, stressing, “Even if a year is added, problems associated with selfishness and greed won’t go away.”
Buhari, who said that he had seen reports about cash shortages and its hardship to local businesses and ordinary people, assured that the remaining seven days of the 10-day extension would be used to crackdown on whatever stood in the way of successful implementation.
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“I will revert to the CBN and the Minting Company. There will be a decision one way or the other in the remaining seven days of the 10-day extension,” the president assured.
In a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, on Friday, the governors had told the president that, while they agreed that his decision on the currency was good, they said that its execution had been botched and their constituents were becoming increasingly upset.
They also lamented that they were becoming anxious about a slump in the economy and the series of elections that were coming.
Besides, they requested the President to direct the concurrent flourish of the new and old notes till the end of the year.
The President said when he considered giving the approval to the policy, he demanded an undertaking from the CBN that no new notes will be printed in a foreign country and they in turn gave him assurances that there was enough capacity, manpower and equipment to print the currency for local needs.
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