Keep using old notes — Tinubu will change policy if elected, el-Rufai tells Kaduna traders

Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna, has asked traders in the state to continue using the old naira notes for their transactions.

Speaking on Tuesday at a meeting with the traders in Kaduna, el-Rufai said if Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is elected, he will review the naira redesign policy.

“Stop changing your money and tell everyone to stop taking money to banks. If you sell anything, accept the old note if it’s given to you. Stop saying it’s only the new notes that you will accept because your market will stop and that is what they want,” he said.

“Tell everyone in Kaduna who has the old notes to spend it and buy items. Tell every trader to accept the old notes.

“Nasir el-Rufai, Uba Sani, and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu promise you that if we (APC) are elected, this policy will be changed and everyone will be given sufficient time to change their money.

“Stop taking your money to banks, keep them with you. Nobody can make your money to become worthless. It is the law; nobody can do it.

“It’s just a matter of time; be patient. We have 18 days to the elections. Once the elections are over, you should expect what Asiwaju Bola Tinubu would say, which is the change of this policy.

“You should help us pass this message to relatives. Everyone should stop taking money to banks; continue trading with the old notes.”

In October 2022, Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), announced the plan to redesign the N200, N500, and N1,000 notes, and asked Nigerians to deposit their old notes before January 31, 2023, when they would cease to be legal tender.

The deadline was, thereafter, shifted to February 10, but many Nigerians have found it difficult to obtain the new naira notes.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, the supreme court temporarily restrained the federal government from banning the use of the old naira notes from February 10.