The leadership of the National Assembly said Friday that there was the need for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to allow the old and new currencies to be used concurrently.
President of the Senate Ahmed Lawan said this while fielding questions from State House correspondents after a meeting with President Muhamamdu Buhari along with the Speaker of House of Representatives Mr Femi Gbajabiamila.
He said doing so would reduce the hardship currently being faced by citizens in accessing the new banknotes.
“For us in the Senate, initially we felt that this policy is not a bad policy but we are also feeling that there is no need for any time limit; allow the old and the new to co-exist until the old is phased out.
“this is not going to be the first country to do it that way. Other countries have been doing it that way. To say that in three months it will be okay, it is not okay. Especially in a country like ours where 80-90 percent of the population have no access to banks,” he said.
He said now is the time to take a decision on the matter and have a second look at its mode of implementation.
“We had a private audience with the President after the Council of State meeting where we informed him in detail the resolutions of the two chambers of the National Assembly with respect to the redesign of our currency and the crisis of exchange or swap of the old currency with the new one.
“It is a known fact to everyone how life has been so difficult for the majority of Nigerians especially the most ordinary Nigerians across the country and we felt that this is the time to take a decision that will ease the problems Nigerians are facing with respect to this,” he said.
He said there was the need to endure that any policy introduced by the federal government has a human component that would make it friendly to the livelihood of the people.
