AFRICA, FEATURED STORIES, news, TRENDING
Buhari may extend old Naira notes’ validity for 60 days
President Muhammadu Buhari is reportedly considering extending the validity of the old Naira notes till April 10, 2023 to avoid disobeying the interim order of the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday, February 8 in a ruling on a suit filed by Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara state governments issued an interim order that the old N1,000, N500 and N200 notes remain valid until it delivers judgment in the case.
However, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had insisted that the February 10 deadline would not be changed.
But a senior government official revealed that President Buhari was worried about the hardship Nigerians are facing as well as the legal implications of disobeying the order of the constitutional court.
According to report, the government official said that the Naira swap issue was the focus of a meeting between President Buhari and the leadership of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) as well as the Progressives Governors Forum until the early hours of Wednesday.
It was gathered that the governors were reportedly expected to withdraw their case at the Supreme Court.
The government official said, “The resolve was to give room for President Buhari to make concession on the monetary policy and make the following announcements public.
“One, that the old naira notes of N1,000, N500 and N200 be allowed free movement in and out of the banks for the next 60 days.
“Two, that all three notes will be legal tender during this period, but that any old N500 or N1000 that goes into a bank will not be sent back into circulation.”
According to the official, while others were “on the same page with the president”, the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, insisted on the total cancellation of the policy.
It was further reported that President Buhari who had earlier delayed attending the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting by 40 minutes to monitor the development at the Supreme Court, was disappointed that the governors reneged on their promise to withdraw the case.
