Buhari Considers Extending Validity of Old Naira Notes for 60 Days
By Alabidun Shuaib AbdulRahman
President Muhammadu Buhari is reportedly contemplating extending the validity of old Naira notes by 60 days to avoid violating a Supreme Court order, INCNews247 has gathered.
The apex court had ruled that the old N1,000, N500, and N200 notes remain valid until a judgement is delivered on a case filed by some states against the federal government.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had maintained that the deadline of February 10 would not be altered.
READ ALSO: BREAKING: Supreme Court Adjourns Suit on Old Naira Notes
However, a senior government official revealed to The Cable that Buhari was worried about the hardship faced by Nigerians as well as the legal implications of disobeying the order of the constitutional court.
This issue, INCNews247 further gathered, was discussed during a meeting between Buhari and the leadership of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF) that ended in the early hours of Wednesday.
The resolution reached at the meeting was that the old Naira notes of N200 be allowed free movement in and out of banks for the next 60 days.
Additionally, all three notes will be legal tender during this period, but any old N500 or N1,000 notes that are deposited into banks will not be circulated.
The governors were expected to withdraw their case at the Supreme Court. However, the governor of Kaduna state, Nasir el-Rufai, insisted on the total cancellation of the policy.
Buhari, who had delayed attending the federal executive council (FEC) meeting by 40 minutes to monitor developments at the Supreme Court, was disappointed that the governors reneged on their promise to withdraw the case.
After the meeting, Buhari met with Godwin Emefiele, the CBN governor, and Modibbo Tukur, the director of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), to discuss the need to allow all old notes to circulate in the system to ease hardship on ordinary Nigerians.
