The Nigerian president's strategic attempt to deal with the country's cash crisis

Nigeria has been dealing with a cash shortage since the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) began exchanging old naira bills for new, redesigned ones, resulting in a lack of banknotes.

Cash shortages have sparked violent protests in major cities, with furious and disgruntled bank clients attacking and vandalizing banks and blocking roadways.

Cash shortages have sparked violent protests in major cities, with furious and disgruntled bank clients attacking and vandalizing banks and blocking roadways.

The weeks-long cash crisis has worsened only days before Nigerians vote on a successor to Buhari, who will leave down after two terms in government on February 25.

Buhari praised the naira policy as a "good departure from the past" and a "strong legacy move" toward free and fair elections by reducing vote buying in a nationwide broadcast early Thursday.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who is stepping down after two terms, has defended the country's cash policy.

"I have granted authority to the CBN that the old 200 bank notes be allowed back into circulation to further reduce supply strains, particularly for our citizens," he stated.

The policy has revised the 200, 500, and 1,000 naira notes.

The old 200 naira banknotes will circulate as legal money alongside the new notes for 60 days until April 10.

Buhari suggested that old 500 and 1,000 notes be deposited with the national bank.

Frontrunners in next week's presidential election have swapped allegations about cash shortages, with the ruling All Progressives Congress party and the major opposition Peoples Democratic Party blaming each other.

Candidates have been conducting rallies in the last weeks before the February 25 election.

The race to succeed Buhari is shaping up to be a three-way fight between the APC's Bola Tinubu, a former Lagos governor, the PDP's Atiku Abubakar, who served as vice president from 1999 to 2007, and the Labour Party's Peter Obi, who has risen to challenge the APC and PDP's traditional supremacy.

Buhari stated that his administration "would continue to review the implementation in order to ensure that Citizens are not unduly burdened."

The president directed the central bank to make fresh notes more widely available and accessible through banks.

Tensions in Nigeria have risen since the central bank imposed a February deadline for depositors to exchange old notes, leaving many citizens penniless and angry.

Many individuals in Nigeria's informal sector and transportation utilize cash rather than banking applications for transactions.

The strategy, according to the central bank, is intended at removing excess and counterfeit naira from the system as well as deterring cash ransom payments to kidnappers and bandits.

In other news; Newly redesigned naira notes were unveiled by President Buhari.

The regulation was also implemented to encourage cashless transactions by restricting the usage of cash by enterprises.