President Muhammadu Buhari is considering extending the
validity of old naira notes by 60 days.
This is to avoid disobeying the order of the Supreme Court
of Nigeria which ruled that the old N1,000, N500 and N200 notes remain valid
until it delivers judgment in the case filed by some states against the federal
government.
The CBN had insisted that the deadline of February 10 would
not be changed but TheCable quoting a senior government official revealed that
Buhari was worried about the hardship faced by Nigerians as well as the legal
implications of disobeying the order of the constitutional court.
The official said this was the focus of a meeting between Buhari
and the leadership of Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) as well as the Progressives
Governors Forum (PGF) until the early hours of Wednesday.
The governors were then expected to withdraw their case at
the apex court.
“The resolution was to give room for President Buhari to
make concession on the monetary policy and make the following announcements
public,” the official said.
“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 N1,000
that goes into a bank will not be sent back into circulation.”
The official said that while others were “on the same page
with the president”, Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna state, insisted on
total cancellation of the policy.
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.
He had, after the meeting on Wednesday, met with Godwin
Emefiele, the CBN governor, and Modibbo Tukur, the director of the Nigerian
Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), on the need to allow all old notes
circulate in the system to ease hardship on ordinary Nigerians.
“The president will
not disobey court. But he is also concerned about the suffering of Nigerians
and wants to find lasting solution to it,” the official further explained.
“It is clear that some militancy is being propagated against
the people by elite who have the means to secure the new notes no matter what
while the people continue to suffer.
“The president will continue to engage and see the way out of the logjam.”
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