Kaduna residents on Monday ignored the directives of Governor Nasir el-Rufai to continue the use of old N1,000 and N500 notes as legal tender, Daily Post reports
Governor el-Rufai, in his address to residents of the state emphasised that the old notes remain legal tender until the Supreme Court decides otherwise.
However, several business owners, including bus and taxi drivers, tea sellers and sellers of tomatoes and foodstuff, among others refused the old notes, saying that no bank or individual would accept the banknotes from them.
According to Mrs. Suleiman Ayuba, a foodstuff seller at Kawo market: “Nowhere in Nigeria will they accept old notes again. So, what is the use of old notes now, when banks are about to fill their ATMs with new notes?”
Alhaji Suleiman Aminu, a tomato seller at Kaduna Central Market, said: “Even if the state governor said the old notes are still legal tender, who are you going to transact business with? Can you transact business with El-Rufai? If you gather a bunch of old notes, which bank will accept the money from you?”
Daily Post visited some commercial banks’ ATM points at 4 pm on Monday, discovered long queues of customers waiting to withdraw money.
A staff of First Bank, Mr. Samuel Moses told Daily Post correspondent that the CBN had supplied an undisclosed amount of money to all commercial banks in the state, adding that very soon, the issue of new notes scarcity would be over.
