By John Ikani
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday, said it has not given commercial banks a new directive on last Friday’s Supreme Court ruling that ordered the circulation of both old and new naira notes until December 31st.
The Supreme Court had ruled that President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive to the CBN for the redesigning and withdrawal of old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes without proper consultation was unconstitutional.
The CBN’s failure to issue a directive on receiving old N500 and N1,000 notes has caused confusion among commercial banks and business operators.
Despite this, some banks have begun dispensing the old notes to customers.
Speaking to newsmen on the issue, CBN spokesman, Isa Abdulmumin, clarified that “the apex bank has not issued any official statement on the matter.”
However, a senior management source stated that “both old and new notes are legal tender, and Nigerians should not reject either of them.”
Meanwhile, financial experts are calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately direct the CBN governor to return to the status quo ante.
One of the experts, Gbolade Idakolo, who spoke to newsmen, lamented that “the naira redesign policy has caused a loss of over a trillion naira to the economy.”
According to him, “many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have closed due to their direct dealings with cash, resulting in increased hardship for the already stressed population.”
