PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have yet to respond to the Supreme Court ruling making the old and new Naira notes legal tender until December 31, 2023.
The court gave the ruling, which nullified the Federal Government’s decision to make the old N500 and N1,000 notes cease to be legal tender, on Friday, March 3.
The ICIR reported how the CBN introduced the new N200, N500 and N1,000 notes on December 15, 2022, and made the old notes cease to be legal tender on February 10.
While Nigerians rushed to their banks to deposit 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.
On Friday, March 3, a seven-member Supreme Court panel nullified the policy, faulting the government’s handling of the process and declaring its methodology and implementation unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court ruled that although the President had the authority to act as the federation’s executive, he was still required to give the federating units adequate notice before implementing the new monetary policy through the CBN.
The court said that before the old naira notes were withdrawn, the states had not received reasonable notice as required by section 20(3) of the CBN Act.
As a result, the Supreme Court ruled in its lead decision, read by Justice Emmanuel Agim, that Buhari’s authorisation for the CBN to withdraw the old banknotes was illegal.
The court’s ruling followed the litigation against the policy by some states, including Kogi, Kaduna and Zamfara. Over 10 others joined them.
The ICIR reports that as of 3:30 pm when filing this report on Sunday, March 5, the Presidency and the CBN had yet to react to the ruling, and the old notes are rarely seen in circulation.
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 2022. Contact him via email @ [email protected].