By KEMI KASUMU
Despite declaration and re-declaration by Governors of Kaduna, Lagos and Kogi states approving continued acceptance of old Naira notes, residents of their states have ignored them as they – up till the weekend – were seen taking their old currencies to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) branches in Kaduna, Lagos and Lokoja like others across the country.
By the law guiding monetary matters in Africa’s most populous country, old N200, N500 and N1,000 ceased to be legal tender on February 10, 2023 and that was according to declaration by Federal Government, the only statutory authority between which and CBN such matter resides.
El-Rufai, an erstwhile right hand man of the President Muhammadu Buhari, head of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government, had teamed up with two other governors to drag the FG to Supreme Court with intent to stop withdrawal of old Naira notes from being legal tender in the country.
El-Rufai did that in conjunction with Governor of Kano State Abdullahi Ganduje and Governor of Kogi State Yahaya Bello (G3 Governors) and secured an interim order stopping the Central Bank of Nigeria from withdrawing the old currencies.
The Supreme Court had on Wednesday February 8, 2023 ruled that CBN’s three months withdrawal notice, earlier slated to deadline on January 31 but extended to February 10, be stopped by the interim order, while it adjourned determination of the case till February 15.
Three issues cropped up why the CBN could not and cannot implement the interim order, The DEFENDER investigation revealed.
First, the CBN was neither joined nor served in the case and so cannot implement any court order he is not included in.
Second, monetary matter is on the exclusive list by the Constitution and so is matter not between states and federal Government but between, solely, the CBN and the Federal Executive, and so state lacks power to push such order on the Naira redesign policy.
The third issue that cropped up, we gathered, is the fact that the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice Mallam Abubakar Malami (SAN), had reportedly returned to the court with an appeal asking the apex court to vacate the interim order. By the appeal, it became automatic that status quo is maintained, that is, things stand where it was before the governors went to court.
Although the governors constitutionally lack the powers to declare what is legal tender neither do they have the capacity by law to implement such Supreme Court order issued on monetary policy that is exclusively the duty of Federal Executive, the three governors went ahead to ask residents in their states ignore the Federal Government’s directives and continue to accept and transact with currencies already declared to have expired as legal tender.
On Wednesday February 15 when the case came up hearing, the apex court still adjourned till Wednesday February 22 on the grounds that some other state governors, who applied to be joined in the case, could be given enough time to do so. The Attorney General of the Federation however asked that all 36 governors should join in the case, by his wish and that creates the acronym G3+ Governors.
Meanwhile, before the February 15 adjournment date, the CBN had declared that it’s February 10 deadline for the withdrawal stood. The governors, however, did not agree as they former themselves into opposition with reigns of attacks on President Muhammadu Buhari for not implementing the Supreme Court order.
It became a case whereas Federal Government urged Nigerians to deposit their old Naira notes at their banks before the deadline of February 10 and the state governors directing citizens resident in their respective states to ignore the Federal Government’s directives.
Because of the stiff opposition by the APC governors, confusion set and crippled into fake news being peddled across the media and in the end, activities of saboteurs also set in and violent protests ensued leading to President Muhammadu Buhari addressing the nation in a national broadcast on Thursday February 16, 2023 which doused the tension that the governors’ action, described by some as inciting the people against the President, caused.
Kaduna
Despite the stance of Governor Nasir El-Rufai that old notes remain legal tender, residents of Kaduna besieged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the state to deposit their old naira notes.
In the nationwide broadcast on Thursday morning if February 16, President Buhari limited the legal tender status of old notes to only N200, directing Nigerians to deposit old N500 and N1, 000 notes at CBN offices.
But El-Rufai asked residents to continue to use the old and new notes side by side without any fear, while vowing to seal off any facility that refuse to accept the old notes as legal tender and prosecute the owners.
On Friday, report from Kaduna showed that as early as 3am, residents moved to the premises of the apex bank for fear of losing their hard earned money.
A resident, Badamasi Aliyu, who spoke with Daily Trust said, “I stay in Kawo, Kaduna North Local Government but because I needed to get to the CBN’s office very early, I was forced to rent a hotel nearby to beat the time. I came here around 3am and my number was 134. The process has been very tedious but I pray I will be able to deposit my money.”
Still in Kaduna, a CBN official, Mukhtar Maigamo, reportedly said the process was on and that CBN staff were attending to the people one after the other.
According to him, “Many of the residents came to us with deposits of below N500,000 and we are only expected to collect deposits of N500,000 and above. Residents with deposits below N500,000 are expected to go to commercial banks for their deposits.”
Lagos
In Lagos, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who has become one of the G+ governors, had threatened to arrest and prosecute anyone rejecting old Naira notes in his state.
The CBN in his state, however, recorded about the largest number of visitors, who up till Friday, carried old Naira notes in bags to be deposited.
Others
The situation has remained the same in all 36 states of the Federation indicating, despite the inconveniences, total compliance with the Federal Government’s directives as citizens look more to obey the President while ignoring their governors unrealistic orders to continue with currencies of expired legal tender.
