The Supreme Court has adjourned for another week, amid desperation by Nigerians, the suit filed by three state governments seeking to stop the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from rejecting old notes, but the bank governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, insists there is no going back on the February 10, 2023 deadline for the swapping of the old N1,000, N500, and N200 notes.
Throughout the Federal Capital Territory, where the federal government sits, commercial banks and traders on Tuesday began rejecting the old notes.
In Delta, the state government is appealing for calm after protests rocked parts of the state. In Orhuwhorun Community in Udu Local Government Area of the state, a bank’s ATM gallery was reportedly torched.
Emefiele’s comments come against the backdrop of the apex court’s decision last week that old and new notes should be used side by side for now. However, the CBN remains unperturbed by the Supreme Court order, because, according to experts, it was not joined in the suit at the apex court.
“Joining CBN would mean downgrading the case to the high court and making a mess of it,” a source said.
Emefiele said on Tuesday during a meeting with members of the diplomatic corps in Abuja, acknowledged the inconveniences caused by the naira redesign policy including hoarding and anger by Nigerians, admitted that the transition to embracing the new naira notes has been challenging.
He, however, continued to maintain that the benefits are enormous and will lead to a cashless policy.
He vowed to prosecute point-of-sales (PoS) operators who collect exorbitant charges for transactions.
The naira redesign, he argued, has helped in reducing inflation and is leading to a moderation in exchange rates.
He also told the members of the corps how the nation’s economy is faring but shared concerns about increasing inflation which he attributed to insecurity, elections spending, and the effect of the global market on the economy.
According to him, the nation’s growth rate is at 3.6 percent for 2023, noting that the economy will experience what he called subdued growth owing to the scarcity of petroleum products, increased spending which is being curtailed, and increasing debt levels.
At the Supreme Court on Wednesday, two Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors, Godwin Obaseki of Edo and Duoye Diri of Bayelsa surprisingly asked to be joined in the suit filed Governors of Kaduna, Zamfara, and Kogi States. Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna) and Yahaya Bello (Kogi), were also spotted in court for the resumed hearing.
Meanwhile, Governor of Delta and Vice-Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sen. (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa has appealed to citizens of the state and Nigerians to remain calm amidst scarcity of the new naira notes in the country.
The governor’s appeal is coming on the heals of protests by some citizens of the state at Orhuwhorun Community in Udu Local Government Area of the state where a bank’s ATM gallery was reportedly torched.
Okowa’s appeal was contained in a statement by the State Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu in Asaba.
He called on the people to remain calm while also appealing to the Central Bank of Nigeria and the monetary authorities to take further steps in increasing the money supply in the system.
“We appeal to our brothers and sisters across the state to keep calm in spite of the current travails they are going through as a result of the scarcity of naira notes in the country.
“As a government we are not unaware of your sufferings but we appeal to you to be patient with the monetary authorities as they take steps to improve on the money supply in the country.
“We are very much aware of Your pains and converns, but burning down a bank that employs our people will not augur well for us as a nation even as it will not also solve the problem but will further compound the situation.
“Once again we appeal to you all to sheath your swords while we continue to engage the CBN to ensure more funds are released to the banks in the country,” he stated.