Maritime Workers Hail Supreme Court Over Old Naira Notes, Says Cargo Can Now Leave Ports
- Workers in the maritime industry have expressed optimism over the Supreme Court ruling on the old naira notes
- They say trapped goods and cargo can now be cleared with ease following the ruling
- The apex court extended the validity of the old N200, N500, and N1000 notes to December 31, 2023.
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Maritime workers and stakeholders in the maritime industry have expressed optimism that the recent Supreme Court ruling extending the use of old N500 and N1000 notes to December 31. 2023, would let trapped goods in ports be cleared.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Maritime players said on Friday, March 3, 2023, that the ruling would ease the cash crunch around the ports.
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Trapped goods to be cleared
Kayode Farinto, Acting President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), stated that cargo clearance has been slow in the past two weeks.
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He said the Supreme Court ruling was a good development for the economy and the maritime industry.
He stated that people can now carry their trapped cargo in the port.
He said:
"It's unfortunate what people experienced recently. I was in Britain last February 2022 when the Queen died, and it took them one whole year to change their currency, but here, we want to jump before crawling.
"I give kudos to the supreme court for having the effrontery and zeal to be able to interpret the rule of law," he said.
Supreme Court overturns CBN's policies
The Central Bank of Nigeria announced the naira redesign policy in October 2022, with the new notes beginning circulation on December 15. 2022.
The CBN had fixed December 31, 2022, as the deadline for the cessation of the old naira notes and extended it to February 10.
Governors El-Rufai of Kaduna State, Yahaya Bello of Kogi, and Matawalle of Zamfara states approached the Supreme Court to extend the old naira notes.
The apex court ruled on Friday, March 3, 2023, that the CBN and the Federal Government violated the rights of Nigerians by embarking on the policy without due consultation.
Supreme Court order: Traders, transporters and petrol stations still rejecting old N500 and N1000 notes
Legit.ng earlier reported that 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.
The apex court extended the shelf lives of the two highest denominations to December 31, 2023.
Source: Legit.ng
