Some hawkers are making brisk business selling the acutely scarce recoloured denominations of naira notes as Nigerians scramble to exchange their old notes for new ones before the former ceases to be legal tender next Tuesday.
At Dadi Motor Park, Sabon Gari-Zaria in Kaduna State, a News Agency of Nigeria reporter saw large wads of different denominations of the notes on display for prospective buyers.
A check reveals that a bundle of N200 notes was going for N30,000; N500 notes are being sold at N70,000 and N1,000 notes are sold at N130,000, while N100 is sold at N16,000.
Mohammed Bello, a new cash hawker, said they paid between N70,000 to N130,000 to obtain new N500,000 notes, depending on the denominations of the notes.
However, Mr Bello declined to disclose the sources of the money and encumbrances.
Thomas Damina, a resident of Gozaki village in Kafur Local Government Area of Katsina State, who patronised the mints vendors, confirmed to NAN that he bought the new N20,000 of N1000 notes at N25,000.
He said he was forced to purchase the money at the exorbitant price to enable him settle the labourers working at his dry season farm.
“Traders in my community (Gozaki) are rejecting the old notes and the money is not available at the banks. I have no option than to buy from cash hawkers,” Damina said.
It was also observed that trading in the new naira notes was receiving patronage as customers thronged the banks, rushing to beat the January 31 deadline.
Most ATMs of some commercial banks at PZ, the commercial hub of the ancient Zaria city, were not dispensing cash when NAN visited.
Trading in naira notes is in contravention of Section 21 of the CBN Act, 2007, which is punishable under Section 21 Subsection 4 of the Act.
In spite of the laws prohibiting hawking of naira notes and coins, the perpetrators were freely doing their businesses close to the police outpost at Kwangila, Sabon Gari Zaria.
Reacting to the development, DSP Mohammed Jalige, the Police Public Relations Officer, Kaduna State police command, assured that the police would swing into action against the crime.
(NAN)
