Nigeria is currently experiencing a nationwide unrest, owing to the directive of the Central Bank to phase out the country’s old currency notes.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), back in December 2022, unveiled the new currency design for the N100, N200, N500, and N1000 Naira notes, after which the governor of the Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele, disclosed that the old notes of these denominations would seize to be legal tender by January 31, 2023.
However, a shortage of new notes prompted the Central Bank to extend its initial deadline to February 10, 2023. This extension did little to mitigate the problem as the shortage of new naira notes persisted, with the CBN unwilling to grant another extension, despite Nigeria’s supreme court ruling that the old Naira notes would remain legal tender till further notice.
As a result, there has been a series of unrest, protests, vandalism, and deceleration in economic activities across the country, which finally forced the president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari to address the country.
Below are 5 of the most important takeaways from the president’s speech as it relates to the Naira saga.
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