A middle age woman and food vendor, Mrs. Betty Sopitan has described the recent month-long CBN cash swap policy saga introduced by the Federal government as more tougher than the COVID-19 era that left the nation in a serious dilemma.
Mrs. Sopitan made the assertion while speaking to Somolu News recently in Lagos stating that the introduction of such policy at a time when Nigerians were about to decide their fate through a general election was a total distraction and misplaced priority.
She went further, “I think the cash swap policy should have been brought up and executed six months earlier, and the aim of such policy would not have been defeated like we experienced if truly the government has authentic motive as carried out or executed.”
“And don’t forget that the Presidential election was very close leaving the parties and political gladiators swimming in dirty water that almost truncated the democratic process while the economy was nose-diving.”
“Many businesses were seriously affected while some families lost their loved ones owing to their inability to neither have access to their money nor spend the old naira notes to buy drugs for their ailing ones due to CBN restrictions.”
“Even the pandemic COVID-19 era was not as tough as what we experienced during the CBN cash swap policy where people could neither buy food nor eat three square meals. Feeding and going out for business became so difficult. I went through hell trying to manage the situation. Imagine having to buy new naira notes and even at a time, there were no new notes not to talk of having access to the old ones.
“In fact, lots of unexpected things happened but thank God that things are returning to normal after the debacle”. She concluded.
Meanwhile, the supreme court has declared that the old naira notes remain as legal tender till December 2023 when the cash swap policy will eventually be reintroduced.