*Presidency Dismisses Reports On Disobeying Ruling, Says FG, CBN Will Act After Supreme Court Judgment

THE Supreme Court has adjourned the suit filed by some state governments challenging the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) until Wednesday, February 22 for hearing of the consolidated suits by 10 states.

  Kogi, Kaduna and Zamfara States had earlier last week approached the court, seeking to restrain the CBN from going ahead with the deadline on the use of the old naira notes.

  The apex bank had originally fixed January 31 as deadline for old notes to be in circulation, but extended it in response to pressure from Nigerians.

  But the Supreme Court on Wednesday, February 8, issued an interim injunction restraining the Federal Government from suspending the acceptance of the old naira notes from the new deadline of Friday, February 10.

 In the midst of the ruling, banks and some commercial service providers started rejecting old naira notes, even as the CBN, on Tuesday, February 14, said old naira notes of ₦‎200, ₦‎500, ₦‎1000 notes were no longer legal tender in the country since Friday, February 10, despite the Supreme Court ruling.

  CBN Branch Controller in Bauchi State, Haladu Idris Andaza, while speaking to journalists, stated: “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 (CBN) and deposit which they cannot do at the commercial banks anymore, because the currency has ceased 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.”

  Meanwhile, the Presidency has dismissed as false, the reports that the Federal Government or the CBN had refused to recognise old N200, N500 and N1, 000 notes as legal tender despite the apex court ruling.

  Recall that the Governor of the CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, at a meeting with diplomats in Abuja on Tuesday, February 14, said the old notes were no longer legal tender from February 10, saying there was no need to extend the deadline.

  Senior Special Assistant to the President on |Media and Publicity,

Mallam Garba Shehu, in a statement on Tuesday night, however, said:

“We wish to state that it is not true that the Federal Government or the CBN have taken a preemptive action on the legality of currency as a legal tender in view of the pendency of the case before the Supreme Court.

 “The position of the government and the CBN will be made known upon the determination of the suit coming up tomorrow (yesterday).”

  With the adjournment of the suit by the Supreme Court, the suspense and confusion about the old naira notes continue, with no respite to Nigerians eager to know the next move from the apex court.