New Naira: 300 LGs don’t have banks, Says APC chieftain

The National Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (North-West), Salihu Lukman, has disclosed that over 300 out of 774 Local Governments, especially in the North, have no presence of financial institutions to swap, access the new currency.

Speaking on the new Naira swap policy enforced by the Central Bank of Nigeria, Lukman said CBN need to take contingency measures to expand the banking system, so as to enable citizens exchange the old notes in locations that don’t have bank branches or cash centres such as ATMs.

This is even as he bemoaned the inability of his party leaders to convince the President Muhammadu Buhari, to rethink the implementation of the controversial policy.

Lukman, who is also the Zonal Chairman of North-West APC, reaveled this in a statement titled “Cashless Economy and Presidential Cabal”, which was released in Abuja on Thursday.

Also Read: World Bank, IMF Others Warn CBN Against Naira Swap Deadline

The Kaduna politician’s concern is coming barely 24 hours after the Supreme Court temporarily halted the move by the Federal Government through the CBN to ban the use of the old naira notes beyond February 10, 2023.

A seven-member panel led by Justice John Okoro had granted an interim injunction against the CBN and Federal Government, allowing the old N200, N500 and N1000 to remain legal tenders beyond the February 10 deadline until the case is fully disposed.

With the presidential election less than 16 days away, the APC vice chair said what the CBN governor failed to take into consideration was that only about 39 per cent of Nigerians have bank accounts.

According to him, more than 300 out of the 774 Local Governments in the country have no bank branches or cash centres.

The statement read, “With national elections few days away and deliberate cash squeeze enforced by a deliberate policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigerians are today faced with the most uncertain of times.

“This assumes that citizens have bank accounts and that bank branches exist in every part of the country. The reality, however, is that only about 39 per cent of Nigerians have bank accounts. More than 300 out of the 774 Local Governments in the country have no bank branches or cash centres. Where they exist, the bank branches and cash centres are mostly located in the headquarters. Specifically, in terms of cash centres, a total number of automated teller machines in the country is less than 20,000.

“These records suggest the need to take extra steps to strengthen the banking system in the country to meet up with the new demands that will be occasioned by the new policy. It will clearly require contingency measures to expand the banking system, such that citizens could exchange the old notes in locations that don’t have bank branches or cash centres such as ATMs. Given that the International Monetary Fund in November 2021 reported that Nigeria’s banks closed 234 branches and 649, ATMs, should have given a strong warning that the principles of ceteris paribus (all conditions remaining the same) would translate to failure for the new policy.

“Unfortunately, all these were overlooked. And for whatever reasons, the CBN and the Federal Government continue to delude themselves that the new policy can succeed with a very weak banking reality. In these circumstances, both the old and the new notes have disappeared across every part of the country. Even people with bank accounts can’t access their money. Somehow, because we are approaching the election period, the gullibility of Nigerians is being exploited.”