[UPDATE] Old Naira Notes: Buhari mulls extension of validity till April 10

Indications emerged yesterday that President Muhammadu Buhari may order an extension of the validity of old naira notes by 60 days, Recall that the Presidency had on Tuesday night, said the Federal Government had not taken a decision on the February 10 deadline given by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, as the last date that the N200, N500 and N1000 old naira notes would cease to be recognized as legal tender.

The Presidency, while responding to queries on the position of the Federal Government over the CBN February 10 deadline, had said the government would take a decision after the determination of the suit instituted by the governors of Kogi, Kaduna and Zamfara states at the Supreme Court against the government, praying for an extension of the deadline.

Vanguard reliably gathered that President Buhari in the early hours of yesterday, met with the All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, at State House Abuja.

Though the agenda of the meeting was not made public, presidential sources hinted that it was in connection with the naira redesign policy of the federal government and the need to extend the deadline for the naira swap.

One of the sources who pleaded anonymity, said the APC presidential candidate pleaded with the president to reconsider the naira redesign policy with regard to the deadline given by the nation’s apex court.

The source said President Buhari did not make any declarative statement at the meeting but promised to meet with the governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, on the matter.

It was further gathered that the issue was also discussed at the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting where the ministers remained divided on the issue.

However, the online platform, TheCable, corroborating Vanguard’s report, had reported that President Buhari was considering extending the deadline for the naira swap to avoid disobeying the order of the Supreme Court, which ruled that the old N1,000, N500 and N200 notes remained valid until it delivered judgment in the case filed by some states against the Federal Government.

The CBN had insisted that the deadline of February 10 would not be changed but a senior government official told the online platform that Buhari was worried about the hardship faced by Nigerians as well as the legal implications of disobeying the order of the apex court.

According to TheCable, the official said consideration for the extension of the naira swap deadline was the focus of a meeting between Buhari and the leadership of the Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, as well as the Progressives Governors Forum until the early hours of Wednesday.

It reported that the governors were then expected to withdraw their case at the apex court.

“The resolve was to give room for President Buhari to make concessions on the monetary policy and make the following announcements public.

“One, that the old naira notes of N1,000, N500 and N200 be allowed free movement in and out of the banks for the next 60 days.

“Two, that all three notes will be legal tender during this period, but that any old N500 or N1000 that goes into a bank will not be sent back into circulation,” the official was quoted as saying.

The official said that while others were on the same page with the president, Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai, insisted on the total cancellation of the policy.

Buhari, who had earlier delayed attending the federal executive council, FEC, meeting by 40 minutes to monitor the development at the Supreme Court, was said to have been disappointed that the governors reneged on their promise to withdraw the case.

He had, after the meeting Wednesday, met with Godwin Emefiele, the CBN governor, and Modibbo Tukur, the director of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU, on the need to allow all old notes to circulate in the system to ease the hardship on ordinary Nigerians.

“The president will not disobey the court. But he is also concerned about the suffering of Nigerians and wants to find a lasting solution to it.

“It is clear that some militancy is being propagated against the people by the elite, who have the means to secure the new notes no matter what while the people continue to suffer.  The president will continue to engage and see the way out of the logjam,” the source said.

States split over old naira notes, as S-Court adjourns case till Feb 22

Meanwhile, the decision of the Federal Government to phase out the N200, N500 and N1000 old Naira notes as valid legal tenders, has created a wide rift among various states of the federation.

Though only three northern states- Kogi, Kaduna and Zamfara- initially instituted an action to challenge the new monetary policy that was introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, however, when the matter came up before the Supreme Court yesterday, seven other states applied and were joined as co-plaintiffs in the suit.

The states the apex court allowed to come into the case to challenge FG’s decision, were; Lagos, Cross River, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo and Sokoto states.

Similarly, President Buhari’s home state, Katsina, also persuaded the court to allow it to file legal processes to nullify the new monetary policy.

On the other hand, Edo and Bayelsa states threw their weight behind FG and the CBN.

The two states, through their various Attorneys-General, secured the nod of the apex court to join the case as co-respondents in the suit that originally had only the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, as the sole respondent.

However, both Rivers and Kano states told the court that their own case was different, insisting that they raised recondite issues of law that were not part of what the original plaintiffs submitted for determination.

Specifically, the two states, maintained that aside from the issue of the old banknotes, they have a grouse with the N5 million and N100,000 cash withdrawal limits the CBN okayed for corporate entities and individuals, respectively.

Owing to the fresh twist in the case, a seven-man panel of Justices of the court, ordered Kogi, Kaduna and Zamfara states to amend their initial Originating Summons to reflect the new states it joined as interested parties in the matter.

The panel headed by Justice Inyang Okoro equally directed the plaintiffs to ensure that they file and serve all the respondents with the relevant processes, before Friday, even as it adjourned further proceedings in the matter till next Wednesday, February 22.

The apex court said it would consolidate all the cases, stressing that all the states would abide by its decision on the matter.

Meanwhile, before the matter was adjourned, counsel for the three northern states that initiated the litigation, Mr AbdulHakeem Mustapha, SAN, drew the attention of the apex court to the fact that its ex-parte order that restrained FG from implementing the February 10 deadline for the use of the old banknotes, was floated.

Mustapha, SAN, told the court that contrary to the order, CBN had since invalidated the old N200, N500 and N1000 notes. “He, therefore, pleaded with the apex court to reinstate the interim order, saying he had also filed a process to reflect FG’s disobedience to the court order.

Reacting on behalf of FG, a former AGF, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN, told the apex court that Mustapha’s claim was within the realm of “mere rumour”.

He maintained that FG was yet to see the process the plaintiffs filed.

Though the apex court said it was not willing to issue another ex-parte order, it, however, warned the parties that have submitted the matter for adjudication, they were not expected to take any action that could affect the subject matter of the litigation.

Head of the panel, Justice Inyang Okoro warned:  “Once you submit yourself to the court, you have to wait.“

“We are all in this country and we can see what is happening. We have seen people destroying ATMs. We pray that there will be no breakdown of law and order.’

Speaking to newsmen immediately after the court proceedings ended, Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State and his Kaduna counterpart, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, said they were confident that the apex court would arrive at a conclusion that would benefit Nigerians.

“Desperate action deserves desperate measure. We are not against the policy.  in fact, it is the way to go. But its implementation is what we are against,” Governor Bello stated.

It will be recalled that the Supreme Court had on February 8, restrained FG from invalidating the use of the old banknote notes as legal tenders, pending the hearing and determination of the suit by the three northern states.

Though FG, through the AGF, Malami, SAN, said it would obey the ruling of the apex court, however, the CBN, which contended that it was not a party to the suit, declined to extend its February 10 deadline for use of the old banknotes.

Both commercial banks and business owners have continued to reject the old banknotes, while citizens find it difficult to access the re-designed Naira notes.

FG had also filed a preliminary objection to challenge the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to meddle in the matter.