Old Naira Notes Deadline: 3 Things to Know About Supreme Court Judgement on CBN policy
The legal pronouncements on the naira redesign policy of the federal government have thrown many Nigerians into confusion
PAY ATTENTION: See you at Legit.ng Media Literacy Webinar! Register for free now!
On Monday, February 6, a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court compelled the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to fully implement the controversial naira redesign policy.
Source: Getty Images
The court restrained the CBN from extending the February 10 deadline on the use of old naira notes.
However, the Supreme Court, on Wednesday, February 8, gave a contrary judgement. The apex court suspended the CBN's February 10 deadline for swapping old naira notes with new ones.
Recall that the apex bank had moved the deadline earlier set for the expiration of the legal tender status of the old notes from January 31 to February 10 after the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, met with President Muhammadu Buhari.
PAY ATTENTION: Join Legit.ng Telegram channel! Never miss important updates!
Despite the deadline extension, the situation has remained unchanged as Nigerians cannot get the new notes while the old ones are being sold to them by Point of Sales (PoS) vendors.
Will the Supreme Court judgement finally address the naira notes crisis? Here are three significant facts about the apex court's ruling:
1. Three APC governors filed the suit
The suit that the Supreme Court ruled on was filed by three All Progressives Congress (APC) governors from the north; Governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Yahaya Bello (Kogi) and Bello Matawalle (Zamfara).
The three governors dragged the CBN and the Federal Government to the Supreme Court, seeking to halt the full implementation of the naira redesign policy initiated by the apex bank.
2. Supreme Court temporarily halted the deadline
It's important to note that the Supreme Court has not suspended the naira redesign policy.
Instead, the apex court, in its ruling on Wednesday, temporarily halted the move by the CBN to ban the use of the old naira notes from February 10, 2023.
The court gave the ruling pending the hearing and determination of the case filed by the APC governors.
3. Supreme Court to hear the matter on February 15
In the meantime, the February 10 deadline has been suspended by the Supreme Court. However, the court will hear the main suit filed by the APC governors on Wednesday, February 15.
Commenting on the development, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mike Ozekhome, explained that the apex court’s judgement allows the old and new naira notes to be in the same position.
“[The Supreme Court says] ‘Allow it (spending of old notes) to continue. Come back on the 15th of February and let us hear you people," Channels TV quoted the lawyer saying.
Naira redesign: Governor El-Rufai tells traders to continue using old notes, reveals Tinubu's plan
In another report, Governor Nasir El-Rufai told traders, especially those in Kaduna state, to continue using the old naira notes for their transactions.
The Kaduna state governor said this at a meeting with the traders on Tuesday, February 7.
Speaking on why he gave the advice, Governor El-Rufai said Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), will review the naira redesign policy if he is elected.
Source: Legit.ng
