Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria has said despite the announcement by the Central Bank of Nigeria, its members would still reject the old N500 and N1000 notes from Nigerians until the commercial banks start accepting them.
The CBN finally complied with the Supreme Court judgement which ordered that the old notes should remain in circulation till December 31, 2023, when it directed the commercial banks to start dispensing and collecting the currency.
However, Mohammed Shuaibu, the Secretary of the Abuja-Suleja chapter of IPMAN bemoaned the confusion created by the government saying banks had yet to communicate any directive to oil marketers as regards the collection of the old naira notes.
“They said they have redesigned the naira, and if they have done that, then the Central Bank of Nigeria should release the new money. Why are they taking us backwards and confusing people? What are we going to do with the old money? The Federal Government said it had directed the CBN to destroy the old notes and that the notes cease to be legal tender. So as far as we are concerned, and as businessmen, it will be very difficult to go ahead and start collecting that money.
“For it is until we hear that banks have started collecting it before we will start collecting it from the public. But as far as we are concerned, we will not collect any old money in any of our petrol stations,” he said.
He said the banks “have not told us to collect the old notes, and even the new notes, we are not seeing them. Majorly the fuel we are selling is through bank transfers and Point of Sale service, which is cashless.”
