THE IMPACT OF NAIRA REDESIGN IN 2023 ON THE INFORMAL SECTORS IN RURAL AREAS IN ANAMBRA STATE

Abstract

The Naira redesign of 2023 was implemented by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari. Though this was not meant to place the country at a disadvantage, the scarcity the country’s legal tender (naira) which is a consequence of the Naira redesign took a negative toll on the socio-economic life of citizens. Therefore, this study examined the effect of naira redesign on the informal sectors in rural areas in Anambra state. The system theory of Ludvig von Bertalanffy served as the theoretical foundation of this study because it describes how society's constituent elements connect and influence each other. The study identified the rural areas in Anambra state and selected Anam using a probability sampling technique. Also, Umueze, Umuikwu and Iyiora were selected to represent the entire communities in Anam using a probability sampling technique. The study used a sample size of 122 and adopted the snowballing sampling technique in selecting respondents. Data was collected using non-participant observation and questionnaire and analysed using simple percentages. Findings revealed that the Naira redesign failed to reduce the misuse of Naira notes, eliminate money corruption and curb hoarding and security threats in the country. It was also revealed that, the Naira redesign of 2023 disrupted the social and economic life of citizens. Therefore, the study recommends that, the government put in place, all logistics necessary for the printing and circulation of the new currency before enforcing the deadline on old Naira notes.