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2023: Why Old Naira Notes Must Not Return To Circulation Before 25th – Sani

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2023: Why Old Naira Notes Must Not Return To Circulation Before 25th - Sani

Former Kaduna Central lawmaker, Senator Shehu Sani has advised that the old naira notes should not be allowed to return to circulation on or before the February 25 presidential election in Nigeria.

The former Senator opined that if the notes are allowed to return to circulation on or before the 25th of February, Nigerians can wave goodbye to credible elections due to the level of poverty in the country.

Speaking amidst the cash crunch and the legal battle between the federal government, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and some state governments on the validity of the old naira notes as legal tenders, Senator Sani cautioned in a statement via his Twitter account on Wednesday that the stashed old notes should not be allowed to be shared on or before the 25 of February.

He wrote: “With the level of poverty in the country, forget about credible elections if the stashed old notes are allowed to be shared on or before the 25th of February.”

Supreme Court Adjourns Case

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Wednesday, adjourned the currency policy suit before it to Wednesday, February 22.

Naija News reports that the state governments of Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara had, on February 3rd, dragged the Federal Government to the Supreme Court over the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The states urged the Supreme Court to compel President Muhammadu Buhari, the CBN, and commercial banks to rescind the February 10 deadline for the old N200, N500, and ₦1,000 banknotes as Nigeria’s legal tender.

During the court sitting today, CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, explained why there was still a scarcity of the new notes after weeks of unveiling the new currencies.

He said: “Panic mop up of notes, the CBN has also noticed that some of our leaders are buying the notes and storing them for whatever purposes.

“We have also noticed that some Nigerians are catalysing the time transition to charge exorbitant fees, these selfish actions for personal monetary gains are causes of hardship for Nigerians and come at the expense of lives and livelihood.”