Old naira deadline: We’ll make our position known after s’court ruling, says presidency

The presidency says its position on the deadline for old naira notes will be made known today.

The governments of Zamfara, Kaduna, and Kogi had asked the supreme court to stop the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from ending the timeframe within which the old N200, N500, and N1000 notes would cease to be legal tender.

In its ruling, the court restrained the federal government from implementing the February 10 deadline for the validity of the old naira notes pending the hearing of the matter on February 15.

Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation, had also said the federal government would obey the supreme court order.

But despite the court’s order, Godwin Emefiele, governor of CBN, insisted on the deadline.

“The situation is substantially calming down since the commencement of over-the-counter payments to complement ATM disbursements and the use of super-agents,” Emefiele had said.

Financial institutions including banks, filling stations, supermarkets, and other business owners have also continued to reject the old naira notes.

But Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, in a statement on Tuesday, said it was untrue that the government took a preemptive action on the legality of the old naira notes.

“We wish to state that it is not true that the Federal Government or the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN have taken a preemptive action on the legality of currency as a legal tender in view of the pendency of the case before the Supreme Court,” Shehu said.

“The position of the government and the CBN will be made known upon the determination of the suit coming up tomorrow.”