By Lateef Adegbite
It is no longer news that the number of governors elected on the platform of ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, opposed to the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, under the close watch of Godwin Emefiele, February 10, 2023, deadline , to phase out the old N200, N500, N1,000, as the country’s legal tender, has increased from three to over 10.
The battle which was started by Nasir E-Rufai, Bello Abubakar and Bello Matawalle, governors of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara, described as close political allies President Muhammadu Buhari, were said to have filed a suit against the Federal government, FG, at the Supreme Court. The trio had been joined in the suit by Ekiti, Borno, Kano, Lagos, Cross river, Ondo, Ogun and Sokoto governments, including Katsina, Buhari home state among others.
The three APC governors may have been encouraged to initiate the legal battle against the Federal government after all efforts to make the Katsina state governor, to extend the February 10, 2023, deadline to phase out the three old big Notes, that had been redesigned, individually and collectively, had failed.
On Wednesday, February 15, 2023, the Supreme Court, which had had given the first Judgment on the case brought against the FG, by El-Rufai, governor of Kaduna state and his Counterparts from Kogi and Zamfara states on February 8, 2023, had said that ‘’the order barring the government from enforcing the February 10, 2023 deadline for the use of the old N200, N500, N1,000 Notes still stand’’.
The Supreme Court ruling, may have jolted the Nigerian President, who was holding the usual weekly meeting with his Cabinet members, at the Aso Villa, on Wednesday, February 15, 2023. The Court was said of have ordered the parties in the dispute over the naira swap deadline of February 10, 2023, ‘’to file all necessary documents before the hearing of the case on Wednesday, February 22, 2023.
The three aggrieved governors may have headed back to the Court, when it became clear that Emefiele, the CBN, governor, who has the backing of the Nigerian President , has failed to comply with the apex Court order and have allegedly directed the rejection of the old Notes and which the Commercial banks , had complied with.
As at Monday, February , 13, virtually all the banks , in Lagos, the nation’s Commercial nerve centre , had refused to accept the old Notes, directing Customers who had besieged their branches to deposit the old Notes to take it to CBN, office, at Tafawa Balewa Square, TBS, Lagos, the nation’s Commercial nerve centre to deposit.
A Cashier in one of the banks’ branches, in Ikeja, was said to have told a Customer,that they were acting on the instruction of The CBN, Authorities, which have threatened to sanction any bank that flouts the order.
Babajide Sanwo –Olu, governor of Lagos state, who had accompanied Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, popular, Jagaban, a former governor of Lagos state and Presidential Candidate of the APC, to Rivers state to seek the people’s vote for his Presidential ambition to visit Nyensom Wike, the state governor,
May have giving out a message to the Presidency that he is in support of El-Rufai and the other aggrieved governor’s action against the FG, as he was said to have warned that those rejecting the old N200, N500, N1000 , Notes will face prosecution.The governor noted that ‘’it is against the Law to reject the old naira Notes, as doing so is contrary to the Supreme Court order’’.
The Lagos state governor’s governing may have sent fears to the trading public and Transporters,plying the Osodi- Apapa, route, , particular, who were initially not ready to accept the old Notes to start accepting the old Notes. This a big blow, to the Delta state , governor of CBN, who had boosted that there was no going back on the February 10, 2023, for the old Notes, to cease being Legal tender in Nigeria. From Kaduna, Kogi, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Borno, Ogun, Ondo, Lgos, Sokoto, Cross river,and Rivers, people are still transacting business with the old Notes.
Many believe that there is no way Sanwo-Olu, the Lagos state would not have supported the continued use of the old naira and join the legal battle against the FG, as the scarcity of the new Notes persists.
More so, his political mentor , Tinubu, the APC, Flag bearer for the 2023, Presidential election, is opposed to the CBN , cashless policy, which he had said is in principle, but asking the apex bank to suspend all charges associated with the online transactions and bank transfers till the current crisis relating to the new Notes is solved.
Only recently, protests broke out in different parts of the country, including Oyo, Delta and Edo, over the scarcity of the new N200, N500, N1000 and rejection of old naira Notes. The POS Operators, across the 36 states of the Federation and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, may have also taken it as to racketeer by overcharging their customers as much as 20% of the transactions.
Some of the POS Operators were said to be charging as between N2,000.00 and N3000.00 for every withdrawal of N10,000.00. The Benue state branch of the CBN, may have taken the lead for other branches across the country to follow to put a stop to the mess by arresting four POS operators, in Makurdi, the state Capital.
The four suspects were said to have been handed over to the Abdulaziz Bawa led, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for further Investigation and prosecution .The Benue apex bank may have conducted the sting operation in Benue state without making any public Statement on any issue from the various states branches, saying that investigations will carried out and anyone found wanting will be prosecuted’’.
While the APC governors are still slugging it out with the Federal Government over the naira swap, February 10, 2023, deadline, the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, NBS, may have sent a message to Nigerians to prepare for the worst in the months ahead when it noted that the country’s inflation which was on the average of 21.34% in December, 2022, has shot up to 21.82%, in January , 2023, due to the biting scarcity of the ne naira Notes, meaning that it may be worst in the months ahead, as most importers have stopped importation for now , until the elections have come gone and new President emerges to know his Fiscal policy direction.
Worried by what is happening in the country over the naira swap policy and the difficulties being experienced by Nigerians with the CBN, implementation of the government new monetary policies may have informed why Buhari addressed Nigerians on Thursday, February 16, 2023 .
The Nigerian President who has accepted blame over all that is happening in the country had said that he authorized Emefiele, the CBN, governor to redesign the N200, N500, N1000, Notes ostensibly ‘’to boost the economy and tighten the loopholes associated with money laundering in the country’’.
Given the Supreme Court ruling on the February 10, 2023, deadline on naira swap policy, may have encouraged the President to give approval to the apex bank that ‘’the old N200 Notes be released back into circulation and be allowed to coexist as legal tender with the new N200, N500, N1000, bank Notes for 60 days from February 10, 2023 to April 10, 2023. He averred that the old N200 will cease to be legal tender on April 10, 2023. Financial analysts are optimistic that this will go a long way to ease the hardship in the country and bring a Truce between the FG, and the aggrieved state governors who may likely withdraw their suit from the Court .
