Gidado Siddiki, the president of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria’s South-East branch, has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria to extend the deadline set for the country’s new currency to enter circulation.
Siddiki, who suggested in an interview with journalists in Awka on Thursday, said the deadline of December 15, 2022, should be extended by an additional three months to give association members time to withdraw their
funds from the forests and prevent them from suffering significant losses.
He said that the appeal was required because, as a result of their operation, the gang primarily lived in bushes and forests, necessitating a longer time to gather their money for suitable conversion to the newly designed notes.
The redesign of the three largest currency denominations—the N200, N500, and N1,000 notes—was unveiled by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“We are appealing because in 1985, when a similar policy was announced, so many of our people who were in their grazing settlements at the rural areas across the country lost their money because the information came too promptly and was not properly communicated to them,” said Siddiki, who claimed the association was fully in support of the policy.
“They were unable to satisfy the deadline set by the Apex bank at the time. The two weeks they were given back then were insufficient for them to get together, and the bulk of the herders lost their lifelong savings as a result. This is because many herders lack account numbers and do not put their money in banks. They safeguard and preserve their cash locally.
We are only pleading with the CBN to help us extend the deadline for another three months so that the leadership of Miyetti Allah can effectively reach out to those living in out-of-telecommunication areas throughout states of the federation. As law-abiding citizens of Nigeria, we are unable to fight or reverse government policies.
