The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has finally obeyed the judgment of the Supreme Court, ordering it and the federal government to allow the old 200, 500 and 1000 naira notes to remain as legal tender until the end of the year.
The decision, which comes after a series of controversies that followed the naira redesign policy, was announced on Monday by the CBN spokesperson Isa Abdulmumin in a statement.
“In compliance with the established tradition of obedience to court orders and sustenance of the Rule of Law Principle that characterized the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, and by extension, the operations of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as a regulator, Deposit Money Banks operating in Nigeria have been directed to comply with the Supreme Court ruling of March 3, 2023,” Abdulmunin said.
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“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.”
Old N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes Remain Legal Tender – CBN…https://t.co/lA9ZfueFmn pic.twitter.com/xOBoGVATpz
— Central Bank of Nigeria (@cenbank) March 13, 2023
Anambra State governor Charles Soludo had earlier on Monday, announced through his social media page that the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, has given commercial banks the go ahead to collect and dispense the old notes.
He said the CBN governor, who personally confirmed the decision to him, gave the directive at a Bankers’ Committee meeting held on Sunday.
“Tellers at the commercial banks are to generate the codes for deposits and there is no limit to the number of times an individual or company can make deposits,” he said.
This was followed by statements from the presidency, distancing President Muhammadu Buhari from the disobedience to the court judgment. Presidential spokesperson Garba Shehu said the CBN does not need a directive from Buhari to comply with the Supreme Court order.
“It is therefore wide off the mark to blame the President for the current controversy over the cash scarcity, despite the Supreme Court judgment. The CBN has no reason not to comply with court orders on the excuse of waiting for directives from the President,” Presidential spokesman Garba Shehu said in a statement.
The implementation of the naira redesign policy introduced late last year to curtail vote-buying and money laundering among other ills, unleashed chaos, crippling economic activities as the redesigned naira notes became scarce amid high demand compounded by elapsed deadline for the old notes to be phased out.
The Supreme Court had on March 3, nullified the policy, calling it an affront to the constitution. The court scolded the federal government for disobeying its earlier order which nullified the February 10 deadline set by the CBN to make the old notes illegal tender.
However, the federal government and the CBN refused to comply with the judgment extending the validity of the old notes to December 31, 2023. Their disobedience to the court judgment exposed the nation’s economy to further strains.
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) said the Nigerian economy has lost an estimated N20 trillion to currency scarcity created by the naira redesign policy.
“The economy is gradually grinding to a halt because of the collapse of payment systems across all platforms. Digital platforms are performing sub-optimally because of congestion; physical cash is unavailable because the CBN has sucked away over 70 percent of cash in the economy; and the expected relief from the Supreme Court judgment has not materialized. The citizens are consequently left in a quandary,” the CPPE said.