Anambra citizens have surrounded markets and banks in all of the region’s major cities in advance of the deadline of January 31 for the termination of the old naira notes.
Onitsha, Obosi, Nnewi, and some areas of Awka were among the major cities visited on Saturday, according to The Punch.
He noted that most merchants were forced to lock their doors in an effort to avoid collecting the old notes, which were still widely in use.
As they refused to accept the old naira notes, those who opened for business saw little to no clientele.
In order to prevent being trapped on Monday due to the sit-at-home strike, residents also resorted to panic shopping of foodstuffs and other random products.
Automated Teller Machines at commercial banks were clogged with users even though the majority of the machines were still dispensing the outdated naira notes. PoS employees were also observed providing customers the outdated notes.
The majority of the residents complained that they couldn’t use their debit cards or mobile transfer for transactions, which kept commercial activities in the state dull. It was learned that traders, business owners, and artisans insisted on being paid with new notes.
Some of the locals who spoke with The PUNCH expressed regret that, if they did not spend their old notes by the end of the weekend, they might not be able to do so because Monday—the day before the deadline—is a sit-at-home day and they would not have the chance to conduct business.
Chinwe Odume, an Onitsha citizen, raised concern over the commercial banks’ failure to distribute the new naira notes as instructed by the Central Bank of Nigeria.