Some traders and marketers in Lagos have said they would accept the old denominated naira notes of N500 and N1,000, only when President Muhammadu Buhari gives the order.
The people on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in separate interviews that they were being careful and at the same time, waiting for the Central Bank Governor and Buhari to speak on the issue.
They also said that the time frame given by the Supreme Court will allow the apex bank to print enough of the new notes and circulate to banks for people to use.
Mr Barnabas Israel, a food Vendor at Ori-Oke, Ejigbo, doubted if the old naira notes were still available in the banks, saying that Nigerians have already deposited all in the banks.
“Is there any old notes outside after everybody has deposited the one they had?
“However, no one has brought the old notes to my shop, and if they do, I would not collect it because no one is collecting it in my area,’’ he said.
Paulina Akuneme, a Baker at Ili-ewe, Ikotun-Egbe, also spoke in the same vein, saying “I do not need the old notes again after what I passed through to deposit the notes the first time that the authority pronounced it had expired.
“What I expected the Supreme Court to have done was to order the Central Bank to print more of the new notes and make it available for people to see and use.
“Nigerians have moved on. I can assure you that we are still going to experience this difficulty by December,’’ she said.
Musa Jamiu, a yam seller in Liasu market, also said he would not collect the old notes until the president said so.
“Is it the Supreme court that own the Central Bank or print the currency, it is the central bank and the Federal Government that can do so and put them into circulation.
“It is until they choose to obey the Supreme Court order, the Supreme Court order is null and void as far as I know.
“Do you not know that the N200 note is in circulation because the federal government and the central bank say it should be, so the notes were brought back in circulation,’’ he said.
NAN reports that the Supreme Court on March 3, ordered that the old naira notes should remain as legal tender till Dec. 31.
It also nullified the Federal Government’s Naira redesign policy, declaring it as an affront to the 1999 Constitution.
Justice Emmanuel Agim, who read the lead judgement, held that the preliminary objections by the defendants (the Attorney General of the Federation, Bayelsa, and Edo states) are dismissed as the court has the jurisdiction to entertain the suit.
Citing Section 23(2)1 of the constitution, the court held that the dispute between the Federal Government and states must involve law or facts.
It’s Final: ‘Old N200, N500, N1000 Naira Notes Have Ceased To Be Legal Tender’ – CBN Insists
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has declared that the old N200, N500 and N1000 have ceased being legal tender since February 10, 2023.
CBN had originally fixed January 31 as deadline for old notes to be in circulation but extended it in response to pressure from Nigerians.
However, before the February 10 deadline, Kogi, Kaduna and Zamfara States approached the Supreme Court, seeking that the CBN be restrained from going ahead with the deadline.
The Court answered their prayer and adjourned the case till February 15.
However, there has been silence on the part of the apex bank since the court gave its ruling.
The silence threw Nigerians into confusion on the state of the old notes, which were widely rejected but accepted in some places.
Commenting on the development in a chat with journalists, CBN Branch Controller in Bauchi, Haladu Idris Andaza, said the old notes were no longer legal tender.
“In the last 24 hours, we have been inundated by questions from various angles of the general public about our operational guidelines on the old currency notes, be that as it may, there are so many questions here and there which people have been asking about.”
“So for the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state categorically that CBN is ready and is opened to receive all of those old notes based on certain conditions and criteria. Customers are free to come to the Bank and deposit which they cannot do at the Commercial Banks anymore because the currency has seized to be a legal tender since the 10th of this month.
“Consequently, the management of the CBN decided that those customers will have a sigh of relief by coming to the offices of the CBN in all the 36 states in the Federation including FCT to deposit their money.
“The customer has to go to the CBN portal and fill a form in the portal, there will be a form there concerning this currency redesign and exchange. After filling the form, you generate a code, you either print it or come with it in your mobile phone, give us the code and the information contained therein. In the form, you are expected to provide all the basic information about yourself, your account details and the amount you want to deposit.”
“By the time you have done it correctly, you come to the CBN where the code will be accepted from you as well as the money, process and confirm the genuineness or otherwise of the money to avoid receiving fake notes because there are some fake notes in circulation now.”
