There are reports that President Muhammadu Buhari is considering extending the validity of historic naira notes by 60 days to comply with the ruling of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, which has instructed that the old N1,000, N500, and N200 notes should remain valid until a judgment is delivered in the case brought against the federal government by some states. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had previously insisted that the deadline of February 10th would not be changed, but a senior government official has disclosed that the president is concerned about the hardship faced by Nigerians, as well as the legal implications of disobeying the order of the constitutional court. This was reportedly the focus of a meeting between Buhari and the management of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and the Progressives Governors Forum. The president has also met with the CBN governor and the director of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) on the need to allow all historic notes to circulate in the system to ease the hardship on regular Nigerians. The official disclosed that the president will not disobey the court, but he is concerned about the suffering of Nigerians and seeks a lasting solution to it.
The official further added that during the meeting, it was resolved that the historic naira notes of N1,000, N500, and N200 should be allowed to move freely in and out of banks for the next 60 days. In addition, during this period, all three notes will be considered legal tender, but any old N500 or N1000 notes that are deposited in a bank will not be put back into circulation.
The governors were expected to withdraw their case from the apex court, but the official stated that while some were in agreement with the president’s proposal, Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State insisted on the complete cancellation of the policy. President Buhari had delayed attending the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting by 40 minutes to monitor the situation at the Supreme Court, and he was reportedly disappointed that the governors did not keep their promise to withdraw the case.
The official noted that the president is determined to find a lasting solution to the hardship being faced by Nigerians, and he will continue to engage with relevant stakeholders to resolve the issue. The official also suggested that some elites are propagating militancy against the people, as they have the ability to obtain new notes regardless of the hardship faced by ordinary citizens.
In conclusion, it seems that the president is considering extending the validity of historic naira notes for another 60 days to comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling and ease the hardship faced by Nigerians. The proposal is aimed at finding a lasting solution to the issue, and the president is determined to engage with stakeholders to achieve this goal
