Lagos, Jan. 29, 2023 – Dr. Muda Yusuf, the Chief Executive of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), says the 10-day extension of the deadline for currency swap is not adequate.
Yusuf said this in a statement in Lagos on Sunday, a copy of which was made available to the Global Business News (GBN).
He said that there was a huge stock of the old notes in the system and the glaring shortcomings of the CBN might make the new timeline difficult to meet.
He, therefore, recommended a minimum of six months for the currency swap exercise
Yusuf called for the urgent intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari to save millions of Nigerians from the anguish and pain of the current stampede of currency swap.
He said said that there was the need to extend the deadline further to save the situation, adding that the two critical sectors that were most vulnerable were the trade and commerce as well as agriculture sectors.
“The crippling of business transactions at the distributive trade end amid the currency swap crisis would not only undermine the trade and agricultural sectors, but would have a knock-on effect on manufacturing value chain and the services sectors.
“This is because whatever is produced has to be sold.
“The trading end of the chain has been greatly disrupted by this currency swap crisis,” he said
Yusuf said that while the trade sector was contributing about 14% of GDP valued at an estimated N35 trillion, the agriculture sector was contributing 25% valued at an estimated N62 trillion.
‘Most of the activities in these sectors are either in the rural areas or in the informal sector of the economy.
“These are the sectors that have been driving the resilience of the Nigerian economy amid numerous domestic and global headwinds.
“Any policy measure that would negatively disrupt these sectors should be avoided. For an economy that is tottering on the brink, the capacity to absorb shocks and disruptions is severely constrained.
“With 133 million Nigerians in poverty, inflicting additional hardship on the citizens would be unfair, insensitive and inconsiderate.
“The reality is that presently in many parts of the country, more than half of the currency in the hands of citizens are still old notes. And it is on record that the banks were still giving out old notes even few days to the CBN deadline.
“The citizens should not be made to pay for the incompetence, inefficiency and ineptitude of state institutions.
“Given the size of the Nigerian economy, our large population of over 200 million people, the dominance of the rural economy, the huge informal sector, the literacy level, and the over 30 million Nigerians that are unbanked, a minimum of six months window ought to have been given for the currency swap exercise,” he said. (GBN)
