President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday met with Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The meeting comes hours after the Supreme Court restrained the apex bank from implementing its February 10 deadline for the collection of old banknotes of N200, N500 and N1000.
Mr Emefiele, who initially pegged January 31 as deadline for the old banknotes to remain as legal tender, extended the deadline after meeting with the Nigerian leader in Daura, Katsina last week.
Some politicians including the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have kicked against the initiative.
The suit barring the apex bank from continuing with its policy was instituted by three state governors of the ruling party, after it dawned on them that Mr Buhari whom they met with last week over the subject matter remained adamant.
Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara — had in a motion ex-parte filed on February 3rd, by their lawyer, AbdulHakeem Mustapha (SAN), prayed the apex court to halt the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) naira redesign policy.
A seven-man panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice John Okoro, in a unanimous ruling, granted an interim injunction restraining the FG, CBN, commercial banks etc from implementing the February 10, deadline for the old 200, 500 and 1000 Naira notes to stop being a legal tender.
The court further held that the FG, CBN, commercial banks must not continue with the deadline pending the determination of a notice in respect of the issue on February 15.
Legal Fireworks
The pandemonium over the February 10 deadline for the validity of three old naira notes assumed another dimension on Monday as five political parties and three state governments begun legal battles.
Whilst the Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara governments dragged the Federal government before the Supreme Court, seeking an extension to the February 10 deadline, five political parties took the matter to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court and secured an order barring the Federal Government and the apex bank from any extension of the deadline.
The CBN had on October 26, 2022, announced its plan to redesign the three banknotes. President Muhammadu Buhari subsequently unveiled the redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 notes on November 23, 2022, while the apex bank fixed a January 31 deadline for the validity of the old notes.
The CBN also pegged its weekly cash withdrawal limits to N500,000 for individuals and N5m for corporate firms.
With cries by many Nigerians, the apex bank extended the deadline from January 31 to February 10, saying it got the approval of the President.
The National Assembly asked for a six-month extension of the policy, amid scathing criticisms by governors, lawmakers and stalwarts of the ruling party, including Mr Tinubu; former Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Alhassan Ado Doguwa; Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola; amongst others.
Buhari on Friday after a meeting with some APC governors asked for seven days to make a major decision on the policy.
