Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele on Monday bowed to the Supreme Court and directed that old naira notes be issued and received by Commercial Banks.
Emefiele’s directive was at the backdrop of President Muhammadu Buhari’s statement on Monday which was signed by his Media Aide, Garba Shehu that he didn’t instruct Emefiele to disobey Supreme Court judgement.
The Supreme Court at the instance of Governors Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, Yahaya Bello of Kogi and Matawalle Bello of Zamfara State delivered judgement last week that the old naira notes will remain a legal tender till 31st December, 2023.
Meanwhile, the CBN gave the directive at a Bankers’ Committee meeting held on Sunday, according to a statement by the acting Director, CBN Corporate Communications, Isa AbdulMumin, on Monday.
CBN in a statement titled, “Old N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes Remain Legal Tender – CBN’, said the directive was in compliance with Buhari’s administration’s obedience to court orders.
The statement read, “In compliance with the established tradition of obedience to court orders and sustenance of the Rule of Law Principle that characterised the government of President Muhammad Buhari, and by extension, the operations of the Central Bank of Nigeria, as a regulator, Deposit Money Banks operating in Nigeria have been directed to comply with the Supreme Court ruling of March 3, 2023.
