The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has listed six major ways through which the current hardship occasioned by the new Naira swap policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria can be immediately brought to an end.
Tinubu gave the suggestions on Sunday in a statement with the theme, “Let us make the best of this moment.”
The steps, he said, became imperative in view of the need to put an end to the hardship caused by the new policy.
He said although he was not opposed to the policy, he was saddened by its effects on the populace, particularly, the downtrodden ones.
He said in order to bring immediate relief to Nigerians, one of the major steps was for the CBN to announce that the old and new Naira notes (especially the non-withdrawn notes and coins) will co-exist as legal tender for the next 12 months to follow examples of countries that have successfully implemented similar monetary policy.
According to him, that would immediately remove growing tension in the country, eliminate panic reactions by the populace and allow time to scale up infrastructural gaps around alternative payment options to cash.
The second step, he said was to immediately suspend associated charges on online transactions and bank transfers and payments via POS until the current crisis was fully resolved.
He said the cost should be considered a roll-out expense by the CBN to incentivise the envisaged shift to alternative transaction channels; for both the financial services consuming public and those in charge of implementing the scale-up programme.
He advised too that the CBN should mobilise all Money Deposit Banks, Payment platforms to show clear commitment and timelines on expanding their infrastructure and support services.
Tinubu suggested that the CBN should also bring in Fintech companies with capabilities into currency swap programme for the next 90 days to help decongest banking halls and ATM points where people line up for hours.
Other steps suggested are that: “The Central Bank and other relevant MDA’s should form an Inter-Agency Action Committee for immediate oversight over the cash supply gaps from the Nigerian Security and Minting Company and deal with issues around capabilities and turn-around time to meet the needs of the informal sector and unbanked people.
“The CBN, National Orientation Agency and Ministry of Information, State and Local Governments with their relevant organs in both the public and private sectors should commence a major public enlightenment and sensitisation campaign to further educate and empower our people on the new naira and cashless policy for better understanding and mainstream adoption.”
