Business

The Central Bank of Nigeria has ordered banks to start collecting the old N500 and N1,000 notes from the public with immediate effect.

It, however, pegged the maximum amount the banks can collect at N500,000. The CBN maintained that the old currencies were no more legal tender.

A source from the bank said the CBN ordered the banks to collect the monies instead of going to the CBN office following difficulties encountered in getting access to the bank.

A CBN official said, “Go to your bank but fill out the form before you go. Go with the reference code you generate. With your code, banks will collect it from you. But if it is more than 500,000, you will go to the CBN and deposit it.”

Earlier, the CBN opened a portal on its website and made it mandatory for those willing to return old notes to fill and generate a code.

On Thursday, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, ordered the banks to make the old N200 notes available to Nigerians.

This was after Muhammadu Buhari said the old N200 note would be legal tender till April 10, 2023, while urging Nigerians to deposit their old N500 and 1000 notes with the CBN.

However, protests which had been rocking different states over the scarcity of the new naira notes made the CBN order banks to collect higher denominations after meeting with banks’ leaders.

The Central Bank of Nigeira, CBN has opened a portal for Nigerians to to deposit the old Naira notes by filling up forms.

This development comes after the adjournment of the case on the legality of the February 10, 2023 deadline for the Naira Swap to February 22 by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court adjourned the case till February 22, 2023, and ordered that the old Naira notes remain legal tender until it sits next week Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the portal for depositing old Naira notes has opened up on the Central Bank’s official website.

On the portal, which is on cbn.gov.ng, depositors are required to fill in their Bank Verification Number (BVN), phone number, email address, bank details, address, the amount to be deposited as well as the denominations to be deposited, after which a reference number is generated.

A guideline on the deposit of the old N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes commenced on Wednesday afternoon and is expected to run till Friday, February 17.

To deposit their old notes at the CBN branches, customers would be required to have a completed online application form, copy of valid means of identification, and a completed teller. Once the account is verified, the equivalent of the cash would then be deposited in the customer’s bank account.

“The CBN Branches do not open accounts for individuals. As such, Individuals who wish to deposit their old, redesigned notes must have an active account with a Deposit Money Bank (Commercial Bank).

“Individuals who wish to deposit their old, redesigned notes are required to be orderly and comply with the instructions of the security personnel and other staff when in the Bank’s premises. if validation turns out negative, the Bank will return the unvalidated old, redesigned notes in the form deposited,” the guideline reads.

President Muhammadu Buhari has announced the extension of the validity of old N200 notes till April 10.

It had been reported on Wednesday, that the president was considering the extension, given the adverse impacts of the naira redesign policy on Nigerians.

Announcing the development in a televised nationwide address on Thursday morning, the president said all existing old N1000 and N500 notes remain redeemable at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and designated points but no longer legal tender.

“To further ease the supply pressures, particularly to our citizens, I have given approval to the CBN that the old N200 bank notes be released back into circulation and that it should also be allowed to circulate as legal tender with the new N200, N500, and N1000 banknotes for 60 days from February 10, 2023, to April 10, 2023, when the old N200 notes cease to be legal tender,” the President said.

The old N500 and N1,000 banknotes are no longer legal tender in the country, according to President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retired).

The president announced this during a speech to Nigerians on Thursday morning. He also expressed regret to the people for the challenges they had in getting access to the limited new naira notes.

While urging Nigerians to deposit their old N500 and 1000 notes with the CBN, he also declared that the old N200 note would be legal tender for the next 60 days, or until April 10, 2023.

The president’s words were, “Let me re-assure Nigerians, that strengthening our economy, enhancing security and blockage of leakages associated with illicit financial flows remain top priority of our administration. And I shall remain committed to my oath of protecting and advancing the interest of Nigerians and the nation, at all times.

“In the last quarter of 2022, I authorised the Central Bank of Nigeria to redesign the N200, N500, and N1000 Nigerian banknotes.For a smooth transition, I similarly approved that the redesigned banknotes should circulate concurrently with the old bank notes, till 31 January 2023, before the old notes, cease to be legal tender.

“During the extended phase of the deadline for currency swap, (from Jnuary 31 till February 10) I listened to invaluable pieces of advice from well meaning citizens and institutions across the nation.

“I similarly consulted widely with representatives of the State Governors as well as the Council of State. Above all, as an administration that respects the rule of law, I have also noted that the subject matter is before the courts of our land and some pronouncements have been made.

“To further ease the supply pressures particularly to our citizens, I have given approval to the CBN that the old N200 bank notes be released back into circulation and that it should also be allowed to circulate as legal tender with the new N200, N500, and N1000 banknotes for 60 days from February 10, 2023 to April 10 2023 when the old N200 notes ceases to be legal tender.”

He further added, “In line with Section 20(3) of the CBN Act 2007, all existing old N1000 and N500 notes remain redeemable at the CBN and designated points. I admonish every citizen to strive harder to make their deposits by taking advantage of the platforms and windows being provided by the CBN.”

Despite a Supreme Court judgment prohibiting the apex bank from carrying out the old notes’ February 10 expiration date, the Central Bank of Nigeria has argued that the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes are no longer lawful money.

On Monday, Haladu Idris Andaza, the branch controller for CBN in Bauchi, revealed this information to the media.

“For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state categorically that CBN is ready and is open to receive all of those old notes based on certain conditions and criteria. Customers are free to come to the bank and deposit which they cannot do at the commercial banks anymore because the currency has ceased to be a legal tender since the 10th of this month,” Mr Andaza said.

He added that people and organizations with outdated banknotes can deposit them at any of the 36 apex bank branches located throughout the nation.

“The management of the CBN decided that those customers will have a sigh of relief by coming to the offices of the CBN in all the 36 states in the federation including FCT to deposit their money. The customer has to go to the CBN portal and fill a form in the portal, there will be a form there concerning this currency redesign and exchange,” Mr Andaza said.

Femi Falana, a well-known human rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, noted that the CBN governor had not implemented enough strategies to guarantee the policy’s success.

Falana in a message said, “Instead of preparing for the printing of new naira notes and distribution to the banks, Emefiele travelled out of the country. While he was away, the State Security Service declared him wanted for terrorism financing.

‘’In the absence of Emefiele, the members of the Board of the Central Bank of Nigeria had no information on the quantity of the new currency notes that had been printed.

“However, Emefiele returned to the country after a month and was alleged to have been shielded from arrest by some senior military officers. Emefiele, who claimed that he was on his annual vacation, has been battling to make the new currency notes available to members of the public.

The lawyer also accused the President of failing to learn from the naira policy he initiated in 1984.

Falana claims that Buhari, the country’s then-military head of state, destroyed the economy by changing the color of the naira and caused tremendous hardship.

“In 1984, the Buhari military junta changed the colour of the naira. In a country of 81 million people, bank customers and other citizens were given only two weeks to deposit old notes and replace them with new ones.

“The poor implementation of the policy caused untold hardships including loss of lives in many parts of the country,’’ he added.’’

Falana referred to the National Assembly’s inability to rein in the central bank’s excesses as ridiculous, noting that the Central Bank had disregarded all of the Assembly’s decisions and had been spending trillions of naira without authorization.

The Ad hoc committee, led by Majority Leader of the House of Representatives Alhassan Ado Doguwa, was unimpressed by the new deadline and refused the extension, saying that the CBN must adhere to sections 20 sub 3, 4, and 5 of the CBN Act.

The ad hoc committee was established by the Lower House to investigate the matter during its meeting on last Tuesday.

In a statement released on Sunday, Doguwa expressed his dissatisfaction, saying, “The 10-day extension for the exchange of the old naira notes is not the solution. Only the clear conformity with section 20 sub-sections 3, 4, and 5 of the CBN Act would be acceptable to us as a legislative committee with a constitutional mandate from the House.

“Nigeria as a developing economy and a nascent democracy must respect the principle of the rule of law. And the House would go ahead to sign an arrest warrant to compel the CBN Governor to appear before the Ad hoc committee.”

He stated that the committee would continue working under his leadership until the needs of Nigerians were met in conformity with the law.

The extension, according to Doguwa, is merely a political ploy to further mislead Nigerians and aggravate their economic and social conditions. The CBN governor must appear before the committee or run the risk of being detained under the authority of parliamentary writs that the Speaker signed on Monday.

Additionally, he claimed that the course of action could scuttle the upcoming general elections.

“Security agencies and their operations especially at the state level are generally funded through cash advances and direct table payments of allowances to operatives during elections,” he said.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Dr. Muda Yusuf, used the same tone when describing the new deadline as being woefully inadequate.

He said, “The 10 days and the grace period is grossly inadequate. What’s the rush about?”

Additionally, he cautioned that the tight deadline would jeopardize a N100 trillion portion of the country’s Gross Domestic Product, notably in the trade and commerce and agricultural sectors.

The Nigerian Supreme Council for Shari’ah also protested the 10-day period at the time. The council decided that an extension of five months should be the appropriate time frame for exchanging old naira notes for new ones.

Nafi’u Baba-Ahmed, the secretary general of the Supreme Council for Shari’a in Nigeria, stated at a press conference on Sunday in Kaduna that a five-month extension would be ideal to accommodate rural residents without access to banks.

“We are in line with the National Assembly for five months for the old naira notes swap because people in the rural areas may have to travel. And There should be massive awareness of the naira swap,” he said.

City Power in Johannesburg spends roughly R100 million a year to secure its substations and mini substations from vandalism and theft, according to spokesperson Keneilwe Sebola.

And the amount could triple if the security issues persist. In fact, the City could spend as much as R1 million a day on the replacement of damaged mini substations, she added.

Roodepoort in the dark
Sebola was speaking amid power supply issues in Roodepoort, one of Johannesburg’s oldest suburbs, brought about by what she called an “unusually high” amount of vandalism, cable theft, and ageing infrastructure.

Last week, nine out of 14 reported incidents of vandalism and theft at mini substations across Johannesburg took place in Roodepoort.

Mini substations can supply up to 100 customers or households with power and the loss of a mini substation can lead to neighborhood-wide blackouts.

The situation in the area is so bad that the Roodepoort service delivery centre general manager, Sibusiso Xulu, asked for the area to be exempted from load shedding between midnight and 04:00 – peak times for vandalism and cable theft – to minimise damage to mini substations and to allow breathing room for repairs. 

On 19 January, City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena urged Roodepoort residents to stay calm while City Power addressed the power issues.

Quota exceeded 
MMC for Environment and Infrastructure Services Michael Sun said the recent increase in load shedding stages meant City Power was losing substations faster than they could repair or replace them.

When power is restored to mini substations after load shedding, they are at risk of blowing up, causing further damage to infrastructure and additional blackouts in the area.

It cost City Power about R200 million to replace more than 390 mini substations in the last 12 months, News24 previously reported.

And, due to the high amount of theft and vandalism, mini substation suppliers are struggling to keep up. 

Sun said:”We have recently been told by mini substation suppliers that City Power has exceeded its [mini substation] order quota up to 2026.

According to Sun, City Power approached power suppliers in Tshwane, Ekurhuleni and Cape Town in 2022 to buy new mini substations to bolster supply in Johannesburg.

“We were told they were also out of stock and in the same situation,” he said. 

City Power now has a standing memorandum of understanding with mini substation suppliers. 

“They understand it is a dire situation,” Sun said. He explained that the memorandum prioritises the City’s mini substation needs and increases production allocated to City Power.

Additional security

While there are security patrols at substations, City Power is considering additional security to accompany technicians to substations.

This was after a City Power official was attacked at a site in December 2022, according to Sebola. 

Sun added that City Power was also looking at alternative methods of security for substations to protect them from vandals and thieves at an added cost of R100 000 to R200 000 per substation.

Another concern was that incidents were no longer limited to the dead of night.

A mini substation and its security cage opposite Trade Route Mall in Lenasia was recently stolen in broad daylight in a busy street. 

Meanwhile, Sebola said City Power was expecting a mini substation delivery by the end of Tuesday.

“This will hopefully allow the parts of the area to return to normal.” 

Residents are encouraged to report suspicious activity around mini substations to 011 490 7900 or to send a WhatsApp message to 083 579 4497.

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the newly inaugurated Lekki Deep Sea Port and the Imota Rice Mill are projected to create more than 300,000 direct and indirect jobs, and generate economic benefits valued at well over 200 billion dollars.

The President spoke at a State Dinner in his honour on Monday night during his two-day official visit to Lagos State to commission landmark infrastructure projects undertaken by the State Government and the private sector, MRS Holdings Limited.

The President said these labour-intensive projects, which will contribute to job creation in the country, fit well with his Administration’s plan to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years.

He expressed delight that the alignment between Lagos State and the Federal Government, since 2015, has more than delivered the dividends of democracy for the good people of the State.

‘‘These projects commissioned today would not have happened without close collaboration between the Federal and Lagos State Governments, and the involvement of the private sector as well.

‘‘Indeed, our commitment to unleashing the full potential of Nigeria’s private sector should never be in doubt. Through various policies, legislation, and executive orders, we have worked very hard to facilitate private enterprise in Nigeria.

‘‘The results of this can be seen in the many thriving businesses across Lagos State, in manufacturing, oil and gas, creative industries, services, digital economy, and many more, creating tens of thousands of jobs and economic opportunities for Nigerians.

‘‘I have no doubt whatsoever that posterity will be kind to us on account of these landmark projects and successes.’’

President Buhari also listed the achievements of the Federal Government and support to Lagos State during his two terms in office, promising to work with unwavering vigour and commitment to fulfill the promises made to Nigerians, until the end of his administration.

‘‘I would like to start by thanking the Governor of Lagos State, His Excellency, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and the good people of Lagos, for the colourful reception that my team and I received today on our arrival in the state.

‘‘Earlier today, it was my pleasure to commission the Lekki Deep Sea Port, and the Imota Rice Mill, two projects that are very much in line with our administration’s vision of economic diversification and food security.

‘‘The Lekki Deep Sea Port is driven by my vision to bequeath a legacy of poverty elimination through the provision of job-creating infrastructure. I placed all matters related to the operationalization of Lekki Deep Seaport on top priority by giving unalloyed backing to the Nigerian Ports Authority and it’s supervising ministry, the Federal Ministry of Transportation.

‘‘With the commencement of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement which we are signatory, the distinctive features of Lekki Deep Seaport such as full automation which positions it for quick cargo and vessel turn around will greatly enhance the competitiveness of Nigeria’s exports especially agro-allied products in the international marketplace, grow local jobs, increase FOREX inflow and position Nigeria to maximize the opportunities inherent in the AfCFTA Agreement.’’

The President described Bestaf Lubricant at MRS Holdings Company Limited, Apapa, earlier commissioned by him as a testament to the provision of enabling environment for private sector businesses to thrive.

He noted that the 200m litre lubricant plant, which covers the whole value chain of lubricants and is the first of its kind in West Africa, would prevent the importation of sub-standard products, stop capital flight, and contribute to the generation of foreign exchange for the country, through products exports.

‘‘This plant will go a long way in ensuring that the plants and machinery which are used in Nigeria, have extended life from the use of high-quality lubricants,’’ he said.

President Buhari, who is also scheduled to inaugurate the historic first Phase of the Blue Line of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit and the John Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History on Tuesday, praised Lagos for maintaining its status as Nigeria’s economic nerve center and leading subnational economy in Africa.

‘‘It is also a place with which I am very familiar, having lived and served here for long periods during my military career.

‘‘I am therefore no stranger to the rich culture and remarkable hospitality for which Lagos and its people are famous. It is therefore always a pleasure for me to return to Lagos, and to see the remarkable changes taking place constantly.’’

Highlighting the Federal Government’s support for the growth and development of Lagos State, under his watch, the President said:
‘‘We have approved important fiscal waivers required to deliver on key infrastructure projects, including customs duties for BRT Buses, LAG-RIDE vehicles, as well as Rolling Stock for the Blue and Red Rail Lines.

‘‘Lagos was one of the pioneer beneficiaries of our Road Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme, which has transformed the Apapa-Oshodi-Oworonshoki Expressway and will deliver a brand-new access road to the new Lekki Deep Sea Port.

‘‘Lagos has benefited from our Sukuk Bond projects – the nearby Ahmadu Bello Way being one of the major roads reconstructed using Sukuk funding.’’

In addition, the President said the Federal Government allocated the Right of Way of the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge Railway Line, for use by the Lagos Mass Rail Transit’s Red Line, while also extending substantial financial support to the State at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

On other notable strides of this administration, the President said the Federal Government has handed over the International Airport Road to the Lagos State Government, for reconstruction while the ongoing redevelopment of the National Theatre, Iganmu is in partnership with Lagos State Government.

‘‘We have been very clear that our administration is one that will support and work with State Governments to achieve our mutually-held goal of laying a sustainable foundation for lasting progress and development in Nigeria.’

The President commended Governor Sanwo-Olu for the impressive projects and for keeping the electoral promises made to Lagosians.

‘‘You have been a true Ambassador of the progressive politics that defines our party, and which has been the guiding vision of my administration, from Day 1.

‘‘I also acknowledge the excellent work that you did, working closely with the Federal Government and other stakeholders, to protect Lagos State from the worst effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

‘‘There is so much for us to be proud of, that we have worked hand-in-hand to achieve. Equally, there is still so much ahead for us to collaborate on,’’ he said.

The CBN has made a plea to the traders at the Abubakar Mahmud Gumi Market in Kaduna to make sure that the old naira notes are deposited at commercial banks as part of the ongoing sensitization campaign on new notes.

The deadline of January 31 would not be extended, the top bank emphasized.

Mohammed Abba, director of capacity development for the CBN, urged traders to move quickly and exchange their old naira notes for the new ones as he briefed journalists on the advantages of the new notes at the Central Market Motor Park in Kaduna on Saturday.

He also noted that the CBN would sanction errant commercial banks which refused to dispense the new naira notes through their ATMs or were found hoarding the notes.

“For now, I don’t think there is any possibility of changing or extending the January 31 deadline within which the old naira notes will cease as legal tender,” he added.

The CBN had promised to punish any commercial bank discovered hoarding the new naira notes during a number of programs, claiming that it had manufactured enough to distribute them to all of the banks in the nation.

The CBN Kano Branch Controller, Alhaji Umar Biu, stated that traders had the right to report any bank found either hoarding the new naira notes or charging customers before depositing their old naira notes last Thursday during a sensitization program on the new naira notes organized for traders at the Sabon Gari market in Kano.

“You have the right to report any bank found hoarding the new naira notes or refusing to collect your old naira notes before the 31st January 2023 deadline.

“No bank should refuse to collect the old naira notes until the deadline of 31st January 2023,” the branch controller said.

He claims that in an effort to prevent client favoritism, the central bank has instructed commercial banks to stop accepting payments in person.

He insisted that the deadline of January 31, 2023, was set in stone and said that all of the previous naira notes would stop being accepted as legal cash on that day.