IN what appears to be an in-house resolve to comply with the Supreme Court ruling of March 3, nullifying the Federal Government’s naira redesign policy, some banks have begun to dispense the old N500 and N1,000 notes in Abuja.
However, many of the city’s residents are not accepting the money for transactions, The ICIR observed on Wednesday, March 8.
As in most states in Nigeria since the court ruling, there has been apprehension in Abuja as residents await either President Muhammadu Buhari or the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to react to the judgment.
The ICIR reports that while Abuja residents are anxious to see the old notes back in circulation to cushion their daily pains over unavailable new notes, it is unclear if the Federal Government’s silence over the court’s ruling means the judgment will not stand.
On March 5, The ICIR reported how Buhari and the CBN kept mute on the Supreme Court’s ruling two days after the judgment.
A brief background
President Buhari authorised the CBN to redesign the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes in 2022.
The ICIR reported how the CBN introduced the new notes on December 15, 2022, and made the old notes cease to be legal tender on February 10.
While Nigerians deposited the old notes with the hope that the new notes would be available, it has been a huge challenge for many organisations, homes and individuals to get the cash to sustain them nearly a month after the policy took effect.
In one of its many reports on the hardship the policy has brought to people in the country, The ICIR reported how Nigerians went nude, fought in banks and engaged in other habits that counted as offences when things were normal.
Following widespread condemnation of the process and its accompanying pains on Nigerians, Buhari addressed the citizens on February 16 and revealed he authorised the currency redesign.
He directed that the old N200 be returned into circulation to alleviate the hardship faced by people.
Residents can’t spend old notes because of Buhari, CBN’s silence on judgment
A resident, Mariam Abdullahi, working with an insurance firm, got N10,000 old notes of N500 and N1,000 denominations at the FCMB branch located in the Central Business District in the nation’s capital on Tuesday. She could not spend the notes because people refused to collect them.
She eventually gave the money out to someone else to try his luck.
Another resident, John Caleb, working with a media organisation in Abuja, had N7,500 of the old N500 and N1,000 notes and couldn’t deposit them in the bank before the CBN said they were no longer legal tender.
After hearing the Supreme Court ruling, which upturned the decision, Caleb was elated. However, his joy was short-lived. He has yet to spend the money six days after he has been trying to transact with the notes.
A point-of-sale (POS) operator along the Airport Road in Abuja, Wahid Aminu, received some old N500 and N1,000 notes from a bank in the city. He charges less on the old notes than the new ones before people ‘cautiously’ accept his old money.
“Some collect the old notes from me because they have no option. I have only a few old and new notes to give out. But I charge less for the old notes before people collect them. They often claim they are unsure if people will collect the old notes from them.”
Meanwhile, another resident, Adewale Ibrahim, expressed concerns over the impact of Buhari and the CBN’s silence to on the nation’s democracy.
“In a democracy, you don’t expect such silence from an arm of government or anyone to a court ruling. We are talking about the Supreme Court, not just any court. The Constitution only recognises a Supreme Court, not a Supreme President or a Supreme CBN,” Ibrahim stated.
No instruction yet to issue old notes – Bank workers
Bank workers at Polaris and UBA who spoke with The ICIR and pleaded anonymity because they didn’t get permission to speak said they had yet to receive instruction from the CBN to dispense the old notes.
“We do not even have the old N500 and N1,000 notes to issue if the CBN gives the order now. The apex bank has to give us the cash before we can disburse,” one of the bank workers said.
Another banker said the bank would only issue the old notes if it received instruction to do so from the CBN.
Marcus bears the light, and he beams it everywhere. He's a good governance and decent society advocate. He's The ICIR Reporter of the Year 2022 and has been the organisation's News Editor since September 2023. Contact him via email @ mfatunmole@icirnigeria.org