Godwin Emefiele, the governor of Nigeria’s Central Bank of Nigeria has directed commercial banks to dispense and receive old naira notes as legal tender across the country.
According to a statement by the acting Director, CBN Corporate Communications, Isa AbdulMumin, on Monday evening, the CBN gave the directive at a Bankers’ Committee meeting held on Sunday, even as the statement is coming hours after the Presidency Monday evening said President Muhammadu Buhari did not instruct the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, and the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, to disobey “any court orders involving the government and other parties.” hence the CBN had no reason not to comply with the ruling of the Supreme Court on the naira redesign policy.
In the past weeks especially before the Supreme Court ruling, Emefiele had insisted that the initial January 31st deadline was unchangeable only to soft pedal after President Muhammadu Buhari shifted the terminal date to February 10, 2023, in a national broadcast on the policy.
The Supreme Court granted a request by Six states led by Kaduna and Zamfara urging the court to restrain the Federal government from implementing the February 10, terminal date and ordered that the old and new notes should circulate alongside pending the determination of a suit filed at the Supreme Court but the order was not obeyed by the CBN governor.
The statement read, “In compliance with the established tradition of obedience to court orders and
sustenance of the Rule of Law Principle that characterised the government of President Muhammad Buhari, and by extension, the operations of the Central Bank of Nigeria, as a regulator, Deposit Money Banks operating in Nigeria have been directed to comply with the Supreme Court ruling of March 3, 2023.
“Accordingly, the CBN met with the Bankers’ Committee and has directed that the old N200, N500 and N1000 banknotes remain legal tender alongside the redesigned banknotes till December 31, 2023.
Consequently, all concerned are directed to conform accordingly.”
Its one week after the court handed down the order, the AGF and the CBN have kept mum over the verdict. Their silence has emboldened Nigerians and businesses to reject the old notes as legal tender.
Meanwhile, state governments, which sued the Federal Government on the naira redesign policy, have given the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, and the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, till Tuesday to comply with the order of the Supreme Court on the currency.
The state governments threatened to file contempt charges against the two top officials on Tuesday should they fail to obey the apex court which ordered that the old N1,000, N500 and N200 should be in circulation alongside the new notes till December 31, 2023.
A seven-man panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice John Okoro gave the judgment. Other justices that sat on the case are Emmanuel Agim, Amina Augie, Mohammed Garba, Ibrahim Saulawa, Adamu Jauro and Tijanni Abubakar.
In the judgment delivered by Justice Agim, the apex court held that Buhari breached the constitution in the manner he issued directives for the redesigning of the naira.
On the disobedience of the Supreme Court’s earlier order on the new notes, Justice Agim said Buhari’s broadcast of February 16, 2023, that only the N200 note should remain legal tender made the country’s democracy look like a mere pretension.
