Nigeria’s outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to deal with the cash crunch in the country which is causing chaotic scenes as people try to get their hands on new naira notes.
After 10 February the old notes will become worthless but can be exchanged for a further seven days at the country’s central bank.
“I am aware of the cash shortages and hardship being faced by people and businesses, on account of the Naira redesign,” President Buhari tweeted.
“I want to assure that we are doing everything to resolve these issues. Nigerians should expect significant improvements between now and the February 10 deadline,” he continued.
One video showed people fighting at an ATM to get money. Another showed a man stripping down to his underwear as he was waiting at the bank, as we reported on Thursday.
The deadline to exchange the money was supposed to have been 31 January, but it was extended by 10 days to give more people in rural areas time to get the new notes, the central bank’s governor had said.
When the bank announced in October that the 1,000 ($2.18; £1.75), 500 and 200 naira notes were to be replaced, it said 80% of the notes in circulation were outside banks.
The central bank believes that with the redesigned currency it will have a better understanding of the money circulating in the economy so it can better manage inflation.
