Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu described the widespread rejection of old naira notes as a flagrant disregard for the law. In a statewide broadcast, he condemned traders and business owners who were refusing to accept the old currency, warning that such actions would weaken the nation’s economy and harm local trade and business transactions.
The governor reminded listeners that the Supreme Court has ruled that old currency notes must remain legal tender for the exchange of goods and services. “It is therefore of great concern to me that a large section of our people—particularly market traders, taxi and bus drivers, barbers, auto‑mechanics, and artisans—are rejecting the old naira notes, thereby inflicting needless pain on their fellow citizens and customers,” he said.
Akeredolu urged commercial banks to increase the circulation of all denominations and to devise more effective ways to relieve congestion in the banking system. He appealed to residents of Ondo State to embrace and accept both old and new notes as stipulated by law, emphasizing that rejecting the old thousand‑naira, five‑hundred‑naira, and two‑hundred‑naira notes would only stifle local trade, weaken the economy, and cause avoidable troubles.
“Let us not create needless tension over this matter. Please collect, spend, and exchange the old notes without hindrance,” the governor concluded.
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