Confusion has continued to trail the recent judgment of the Supreme Court, which annulled the naira redesign policy introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) late last year with the backing of the federal government.
The Supreme Court had on March 3, stopped the federal government from implementing the naira redesign policy, ordering that old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes be allowed to co-circulate with the new notes until December 31, 2023.
The seven-man panel led by Justice John Inyang Okoro, in its judgment, described the policy as an affront to the 1999 Constitution and therefore nullified it.
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However, both the federal government and the central bank have failed to make statement on the judgment, keeping banks and the Nigerian public in confusion and tedious wait as the cash crunch emanating from the implementation of the policy lingers.
The backdrop has created concern that federal government may once again; flout the apex court’s order, deepening the cash crunch crisis that has heavily impacted the nation’s economy, particularly, the informal sector. The concern persists amid reports that some commercial banks are already collecting and issuing the old notes in compliance with the Supreme Court ruling.
While there is willingness to use the old naira notes as legal tender, the CBN’s failure to issue directive to banks on the court’s judgment has stalled the circulation.
“What is this confusion? Supreme Court says old naira remains valid till December, banks start dispensing old notes but buses, supermarkets, fuel stations, and so on are not collecting the old notes. It’s like this country is on autopilot,” Olaiya Simileoluwa, a Lagos resident, was quoted by Daily Trust as saying.
In a report on Tuesday, TheCable quoted Isa Abdulmumin, CBN spokesperson, as saying that both the old and new notes are legal tender and banks are currently issuing them to customers.
“Banks are paying old notes as well as new notes. They are all legal tender,” he said.
“Yes, the CBN has not issued an official statement on the issue. Anyone banks give to you, you can collect. We just want to make life easy for Nigerians.”
Abdulmumin was also quoted as urging the public not to reject the old notes, though he acknowledged that the CBN has not officially issued a circular on that.
“No. They can’t reject it. It’s all legal tender,” he said.
However, there are unconfirmed reports that the federal government is waiting on the conclusion of Saturday’s governorship and state house of assembly election to comply with the Supreme Court’s judgment.
The federal government said it had backed the CBN to implement the naira redesign policy in a bid to curb moneybag politics among other ills.
With no statement from the CBN and the federal government, the public are keenly hoping that the conclusion of the governorship election on Saturday will bring an end to the naira redesign crisis.