Residents of Okitipupa, in Okitipupa Local Government Area of Ondo State, appeared to have found succour in Hausa traders in Sabo Market in the town where they now swap their old naira notes for foodstuffs and condiments.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that traders and commercial motorists in the town began full rejection of the old N500 and N1,000 notes, immediately after President Muhammadu Buhari addressed on Thursday, sparing only N200 as continued legal tender, until April 10.
A visit by NAN Correspondent to Sabo Market in Okitipupa on Friday, showed a large crowd of residents, openly swapping their old N500 and N1000 notes for items like rice, beans, tomatoes, pepper, and onions among others.
NAN also reports that the Hausa traders, in turn, jacked up the prices of their foodstuffs, as a rubber of rice and beans formerly sold for N1,500 and N800, now cost N2,500 and N1,500 respectively.
In the same vein, the quantities of pepper, tomatoes and onions, hitherto sold for between N200 and N300, have now been increased to between N500 and N800.
Alhaji Amidu Abubakar, a Hausa rice trader said he had sold more than seven bags of rice between Thursday and Friday, and that residents were indeed trooping to the market to swap their old naira notes for foodstuffs.
