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The CBN had planned to phase out the old N200, N500, N1000 notes from February 10, 2023.
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The move came after the apex bank redesigned the concerned naira notes.
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Due to the difficulty in accessing the new naira notes, some states sued the federal government.
Eko Hot Blog reports that the Supreme Court of Nigeria has restrained the Federal Government from implementing the February 10 Deadline for the old 200, 500 and 1000 naira notes to stop being legal tender.
EDITOR’S PICKS
The apex court restrained the FG after three northern states — Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara — filed a motion ex-parte on February 3, 2023.
The states prayed the 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 on Wednesday, granted an interim injunction restraining the FG, CBN, commercial banks, and others, from implementing the February 10 deadline for phasing out the old 200, 500 and 1000 naira notes.
The apex court justices further held that the FG, CBN, and commercial banks must not continue with the deadline pending the determination of a notice in respect of the issue on February 15.
This ruling guarantees that the old naira notes will continue to be legal tender in Nigeria until at least February 15—past the CBN’s deadline of February 10.
In recent weeks, the apex bank has done very little in ensuring a seamless transition to the new naira notes.
The scarcity of the new notes had forced the CBN to abandon its previous deadline of January 31, 2023.
Despite the extension of the deadline, banks have struggled to meet up with the demand for the new naira notes.
The situation has caused severe hardship for Nigerians who stay several hours on long queues daily to collect cash.
FURTHER READING
Those who decide to avoid the queues have been subjected to exorbitant charges from Point of Sale (POS) operators who argue that they also struggle to access the scarce naira notes.
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