Supreme Court Order: Traders, Transporters, Petrol Stations Still Rejecting Old N500 and N1000 Notes
- Traders are expressing scepticism over the ruling of the Supreme Court to continue trading with the old N500 and N1,000 notes
- Transporters across Lagos said they would wait until CBN or Buhari gave a directive on the order
- CBN has kept mum over the Supreme Court directives, leading to confusion among Nigerians
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Despite the Supreme Court order against CBN directives regarding N500 and N1,000 notes, Nigerians are still sceptical about accepting them.
On Friday, March 3, 2023, the Supreme Court reversed the CBN order suspending the circulation of N500 and N1000 notes as legal tender in Nigeria.
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Traders, transporters, and others wary of old notes
The apex court extended the shelf lives of the two highest denominations to December 31, 2023.
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But checks by Legit.ng reveal that most traders in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Imo, Anambra, and Osun states still reject the old naira notes from customers.
The traders say they are waiting for a directive from either President Muhammadu Buhari or CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele regarding the Supreme Court order.
Blessing Awe, a trader in Onitsha Main market, told Legit.ng over a phone call that she is terrified of accepting the old naira notes because of the silence of Buhari and CBN.
“Are we to accept them or not? The last time the Supreme Court suspended the February 10 deadline, some banks still did not take them.”
She said the last the Supreme Court issued the directive, CBN did not say a word, leading to banks rejecting the bigger notes.
An MRS petrol attendant in the Iju-Ishaga area of Lagos said they have strict orders from their management only to accept the new notes until they hear from the CBN.
He said that immediately after the Supreme Court pronouncements, customers rushed them with the old notes, leading to the station’s management giving orders not to accept them.
“For now, we have strict directives from our management to reject the old naira notes,” he said.
Investigations reveal that transporters across the Lagos metropolis reject the old naira notes because the banks might not accept them.
Some commuters who tried to pay their fares with the old notes were told to alight from buses as they did not have the new notes.
A bus driver who identified himself as Gbadebo told Legit.ng that he would not accept the old notes irrespective of the Supreme Court ruling.
Speaking in pidgin English, Gbadebo said CBN did not ask people to trade with the old notes.
“All the banknotes are going to the banks and the CBN. What can the masses do when they have not said anything,” he said.
CBN keeps mum over Supreme Court ruling
Nigerians have been waiting for the apex bank’s statement regarding the Supreme Court ruling.
Efforts by Legit.ng to get the new CBN spokesman, Isa Abdulmumin, to comment on the Supreme Court ruling proved unsuccessful.
Abdulmumin did not answer calls to his mobile phone or respond to SMS and WhatsApp messages.
Cash withdrawal limit not part of Supreme Court ruling, CBN may continue policy
Legit.ng reported that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) might go ahead with implementing its cash withdrawal limit despite the ruling of the Supreme Court on Friday, March 3, 2023.
The apex court had reversed CBN's deadline for using the old N200, N500, and N1000 notes as legal tender. The court extended their shelf lives to December 31, 2023.
But the recent Supreme Court ruling did not affect the apex bank's cash withdrawal limit, which it says is meant to reduce cash in circulation.
Source: Legit.ng
