The Central Bank of Nigeria had debunked media reports that the Nigeria Security Printing and Minting Company lacks the capacity to print new naira notes.
The bank in a statement signed on Saturday, February 11, 2023 by its Director of Communications, Osita Nwanisiobi stated that the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele was misquoted in the said reports.
The bank also denied reports that it wants to close some deposit money banks in Nigeria over their inability to dispense new naira notes amid a cash crunch in the country.
The statement said: “The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to a misleading report misquoting the Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, as attributing the current challenge in the distribution of the newly redesigned naira banknotes to a shortage of printing materials at the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc.
“We wish to state categorically that at no time did the CBN Governor disclose this during his presentation to the National Council of State at its meeting on Friday, February 10, 2023.
“For the records, what Mr. Emefiele told the meeting was that the NSPMC was working on printing all denominations of the Naira to meet the transaction needs of Nigerians.
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“For the avoidance of doubt, the CBN remains committed to performing its monetary policy functions, as stipulated in the CBN Act, 2007, as amended. We also wish to restate that the NSPMC has the capacity and enough materials to produce the required indent of the Naira.
“The Bank, therefore, wishes to appeal to the public to disregard the said report and exercise more restraint, even as we work assiduously to increase the circulation of the new notes in the country.
“Similarly, there is a misleading voice note trending on social media alleging that the CBN planned to shut down some banks, particularly in a particular geopolitical region.”
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said on Saturday the redesign of the naira notes was initiated to make Nigeria’s monetary policy decisions more effective, and promote financial inclusion.
The CBN’s Director of Communication, Osita Nwasinobi, who disclosed this at the 44th Kaduna international trade fair in Kaduna, said the policy would complement the efforts of security agents in their fights against bandits and other criminal elements in the northern part of the country.
Nwasinobi, who was represented at the fair by CBN’s Director of Capacity Development, Mohammed Abbah, advised Nigerians to make use of alternative payment channels such as eNaira and internet banking for their daily transactions.
He stressed that the policy was never intended to plunge Nigerians into hardship or targeted anyone.
The scarcity of the redesigned Naira notes had crippled activities in the country with Nigerians daily keeping vigil at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) posts to cash money for their daily usage.
Abbah said: “The principal aim of the bank, with the currency redesign initiative, is to make our monetary policy decisions more efficacious.
“Thirdly, our aim is to support the efforts of our security agencies in combating banditry and ransom-taking in Nigeria through this programme.
“The CBN is not unmindful of the challenges some citizens have had to face in the past few weeks in efforts to get money from their banks or other alternative channels.
“Indeed, there have been reports of occasional transaction failures. However, we wish to assure you that the Nigerian payment system infrastructure is robust enough to handle the surging transaction volumes across all channels.”
The task force set up by the Kwara State security council on fuel scarcity on Saturday monitored the situation in some fuel stations in Ilorin, the state capital.
During the monitoring exercise, Jerry cans containing hoarded petrol were impounded in some fuel stations with the task force cautioning against such acts.
Recall with 𝕹𝖔𝖇𝖑𝖊 𝕽𝖊𝖕𝖔𝖗𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘 𝕸𝖊𝖉𝖎𝖆 that the task force headed by the Deputy Governor of the state, Kayode Alabi, was approved by Governor Abdul Rahman Abdulrazaq to wade into the lingering fuel crisis which has crippled socio-economic activities across the country.
Deputy Governor Kayode Alabi, led the task force which visited several fuel stations in Ilorin metropolis on Saturday.
Major filling stations that were not dispensing to the satisfaction of motorists, tricycle and motorcycle operators, were directed to do so with immediate effect and under close supervision, according to a statement issued by the deputy governor’s spokesperson, Modupe Joel.
The task force also ensured that stations, which hoarded fuel before, started dispensing, an action that eased the stress arising from the scarcity being experienced in recent times.
The Central Bank of Nigeria may bow to mounting pressure and contract the printing of the redesigned N1,000, N500 and N200 notes to foreign contractors in the coming days in order to boost the circulation of the currency.
Saturday PUNCH gathered that this had become imperative as sources said the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Plc, which had been responsible for the printing of the naira, appeared to lack the capacity to meet the demand for the new notes.
This is as the National Council of State advised the apex bank to print more naira notes or re-circulate the old notes, which it had mopped up from circulation, in order to ease the pressure on hapless Nigerians, who had been suffering from the scarcity of the new notes.
A top banker told one of our correspondents on Friday that information available to him indicated that the Mint had succeeded in printing N500bn worth of the new N1,000, N500 and N200 notes and might not have the capacity to do more than that at the moment.
The top banker, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the subject and because he had not been authorised to speak officially on it, said, “It is obvious that what has been printed is not enough. How can you withdraw about N2.1tn from circulation and only print N500bn to replace that?
“Is it not obvious that the NSPMC does not have the capacity to print more than N500bn? With the Mint’s current capacity, to print N2tn will take about a year. Even the N500bn printed has been hijacked by politicians, especially governors. You heard one governor saying one of his colleagues was able to withdraw N500m.
“What the CBN is doing is to give us only 10 per cent of the worth of the old notes we deposit with it. For instance, if a bank takes N1bn to the CBN branch office in its area of operation, it will be given N100m new notes to distribute to its branches nationwide and load onto its ATMs.”
A former top official of the CBN, who spoke to Saturday PUNCH anonymously, echoed a similar sentiment that the Mint might not have the capacity to print more naira notes and that could be responsible for the scarcity of the notes.
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The ex-CBN official said, “I think it is a matter of capacity on the part of the Mint. The NSPMC has been solely responsible for the printing of the local currency and its role wasn’t an issue before now because it periodically printed notes, which the CBN released into the system along with those already in circulation. Only mutilated notes were withdrawn by the apex bank and destroyed.
“As it is now, the CBN may have little or no choice but to contract the printing of the new N1,000, N500 and N200 notes to foreign contractors in order to make the new notes go round the country quickly and save the nation the embarrassment caused by the current scarcity and its attendant consequences.”
Efforts to get a response from the CBN through its Director of Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi, were futile as calls made to his mobile telephone did not connect, while he had yet to respond to WhatsApp messages sent to him.
However, an official of the CBN, who pleaded that his identity should be concealed, said there was no problem with the supply of the new notes by the NSPMC, adding that it was a deliberate policy to print limited amounts in order to encourage Nigerians to embrace other means of transaction other than cash.
“We don’t have an issue with what the Mint is doing regarding the printing of the new naira notes. There is no problem with the mint’s capacity. The fund it has expended so far on the printing of the new N1,000, N500 and N200 notes is its budget for the fourth quarter of last year.”
When a telephone number listed on the website of the NSPMC was called on Friday, it rang out. A message sent to the same number had not been replied as of the time of filing this report.
The NSPMC stated on its website, “The MINT has been in charge of the production of local currency notes since they were introduced in 1965. It does this on behalf of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“For decades, the MINT has produced Nigeria’s naira notes. The notes are among the most secure in the world, with features that are almost impossible to replicate outside of our production systems.”
The CBN had stated in December that it spent over N800bn between 2017 and 2021 to maintain the naira. The apex bank’s Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability, Aisha Ahmad, who appeared before the House of Representatives, added that the amount had spiked by N10bn annually and attributed over 90 per cent of the currency management cost to the production of naira notes.
Council advises Buhari Meanwhile, the National Council of State on Friday in Abuja advised the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), and the Governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, to either intensify the printing of new naira notes or re-circulate the old ones to ease the hardship being faced by Nigerians.
The country’s highest advisory organ also insisted that the general elections should hold as scheduled based on the readiness of the Independent National Electoral Commission and the Nigeria Police Force.
The Governor of Taraba State, Darius Ishaku, revealed this to State House correspondents at the end of the four-hour hybrid meeting of the council held at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
Ishaku said, “What took more time was the monetary issue because of the hardship caused by money in circulation across all the whole states. In the beginning, people resisted it, even though it was good, but generally, it’s accepted.
“The primary complaint from all the states or most of the speakers is that of implementation. And so many views were proferred, particularly the CBN governor; he looked into making sure that the new money was available in quantum.
“There were suggestions to the effect that if the new money is not in circulation or printing is difficult, then the old money that hasn’t been changed could be re-circulated and pumped into circulation to ease the tension, particularly for the poor people in our society, who just need a little sum of money to buy their food, drugs and daily needs.”
On his part, the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, said having been briefed by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Inspector-General of Police and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the council agreed that the February 25 and March 11 elections should hold as scheduled.
The AGF stated, “The two significant resolutions that were driven, arriving from the deliberations of the council, are one, that we are on course as far as elections are concerned and we are happy with the level of preparation by INEC and other institutions.
“Two, relating to the naira redesigned policy, the policy stands, but then the council agreed that there is a need for aggressive action on the part of the central bank as it relates to the implementation of the policy by way of ensuring adequate provision being made with regard to the supply of the naira in the system.”
He also argued that although the implementation of the February 10 deadline for the naira swap was currently in court, it did not stop the government from taking steps when necessary.
Malami said, “The matter with particular regard to the redesign of the currency is a judicial matter, having been taken to the Supreme Court by some of the governors. That matter is being considered for determination by the Supreme Court.
“But notwithstanding the fact that the matter is in court, it is not out of place for the parties, particularly the parties of interest, to consider and do the needful if the need arises, which may eventually translate into either the discontinuance, or the action, or perhaps filing of the terms of settlement or reconsideration.”
He added that after the CBN governor’s presentation, council members proffered solutions, which at the time of the briefing, were being “considered by the President with a comprehensive look of the judicial issues.”
When asked by our correspondent about the President’s response to the council’s suggestions, the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said it would be up to Buhari to decide soon.
Sanwo-Olu said, “Like it has been said, they were all advisory and notes were taken. And he (Buhari) retired back to his office. And I think with all the advice given; the executive knows what to do.
“I think as we move on, Mr President will make known his thoughts to the nation.”
The Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, who spoke with journalists shortly after the meeting, insisted that there was no need to rush in implementing the new naira policy.
He said other economies globally had transitioned into new notes within a year.
Lawan stated, “For us in the Senate, we initially felt that this policy was not a bad one.
“But we also feel that there is no need for the time limit. Allow the old and the new notes to co-exist until the old is phased out. What is wrong with that?
“Other countries have been doing the same thing. When Britain redesigned its currency, it took over a year to change and the validity of the old as a legal tender remained, so why ours? We are not cashless yet. That society is cashless already and they needed even more time.”
The meeting was the first this year and the last before the general elections.
Present at the meeting were former Heads of State, Generals Yakubu Gowon and Abdulsalami Abubakar; and former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo joined the meeting virtually as only about 14 governors were present physically and virtually with some represented by their deputies.
Also present were Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and two former Chief Justices of Nigeria, among others.
The Council of State is an organ of the Federal Government, which advises the executive on key policies.
Related News Cash shortage exposes e-payment channels’ weakness, says ICAN Corrupt politicians angry with new naira policy – Secondus Naira, fuel scarcity: PoS operators, petrol attendants feast on citizens’ miseries It comprises the President as the chairman, the Vice President as deputy chairman, all living former Presidents and Heads of State, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, all the 36 state governors and the AGF.
Cash scarcity persists In Abuja, all the banks along Airport Road did not dispense cash to customers on Friday through their Automated Teller Machines.
The banking halls were also filled to the brim with customers in queues to withdraw N5,000, which was the highest amount that the banks could pay over the counter.
At Stanbic IBTC, only in-house customers were granted access to the banking hall as the bank’s ATM was closed.
At Zenith Bank, security officials were made to perform the jobs of bankers, as they gave relevant forms at the gate to customers in order to reduce the pressure on the overcrowded halls.
When queried on the maximum withdrawal limit, officials of the banks said N5,000 was being paid in N50 bill.
On the old notes, an official who preferred anonymity, said banks were no longer disbursing them.
He added that the grace period of seven days was still in place for anyone who had not returned them to the bank, even though there were no new notes to swap.
One of our correspondents, who visited some banking halls and ATM galleries in the Lugbe area of Abuja, observed that the banks were not dispensing cash to customers over the counter.
The financial institutions claimed that they did not have cash to dispense to the multitude that besieged their outlets.
At the UBA banking hall, customers were seen depositing old notes. The banking halls and ATMs of Polaris Bank, Fidelity Bank and Wema Bank were not dispensing cash to customers over the counter.
Their ATM galleries were clustered by customers waiting to withdraw the new naira notes.
Bank branches monitored in the Ikeja area of Lagos recorded heavy turnout of desperate customers, who besieged the ATM galleries and banking halls.
Rowdy scenes were witnessed at UBA, First Bank, Union Bank and Zenith Bank on Oba Akran Road, Ikeja, and Ogba areas.
At the UBA branch in Ibafo, Ogun State, customers expressed relief that the lender had reopened after some days of closure following attacks on some bank branches in the state. They, however, lamented their inability to withdraw money without stress as the queue of ATM users spilled outside the gallery.
A bank manager on Victoria Island, Lagos, told Saturday PUNCH that the bullion van team had been in the CBN office in Marina since the early hours of the day and had not been given new notes, adding that there was no improvement in money supplied to the branch.
The manager said, “There is so much uncertainty. We have not heard from the CBN regarding the deadline for the old notes, which expires today (Friday). The Supreme Court order has complicated matters. Surprisingly, depositors, whom we had been appealing to before now, have been trooping to the banking hall to deposit their old notes.
“Since our branch is not in a residential area, the head office directed that some of the cash meant for us should be taken to our branches on the mainland and Ajah in order to reduce the pressure on those branches and prevent attacks by angry customers.”
Kano sues FG Meanwhile, the Kano State Government has filed a suit against the Federal Government at the Supreme Court in respect of the naira redesign policy of the CBN.
In suit number: SC/CS/200/2023, the Attorney-General of the state, through his counsel, Sunusi Musa (SAN), asked the apex court to declare that the President could not unilaterally direct the CBN to recall the N200, N500 and N500 old bank notes without recourse to the Federal Executive Council and the National Economic Council.
The state prays for a mandatory order seeking the reversal of the policy for affecting the economic well-being of over 20 million Kano residents.
The applicant is also seeking a mandatory order compelling the Federal Government to reverse the naira redesign policy for allegedly failing to comply with the 1999 constitution as amended.
Ondo joins suit Similarly, the Ondo State Government has filed a suit against the Federal Government at the Supreme Court over the policy.
It filed a separate application to join the suit earlier instituted by the Zamfara, Kaduna and Kogi state governments at the apex court on the deadline issued by CBN on the swapping of old naira notes for the new notes.
The Ondo State Government asked the apex court to stop the implementation of the policy.
In an originating summon filed and signed by the Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General of the state, Mr Charles Titiloye, the government asked the Supreme Court to stop the implementation of the directive issued by the Federal Government through the CBN on limitation of daily cash withdrawal from banks, which it said had totally paralysed its activities and adversely affected economic and commercial activities in the state.
A statement issued by the Special Assistant to the Attorney-General, Kola Adeniyi, said, “The Ondo State Government contended that the guideline on daily maximum cash withdrawal made by the Federal Government is an infraction on the legal rights of the Ondo State Government and its citizens to access funds for the execution of developmental projects, small credit facilities to petty traders (who have no accounts in banks) and highly detrimental to daily commercial activities in the state.
“The Ondo State Government urged the Supreme Court to declare that the Federal Government cannot by directive issued through the Central Bank of Nigeria amend or vary an existing Act of the National Assembly, particularly Section 2 of the Money Laundering Act, which relates specifically to limitations on cash withdrawals for individual and corporate organisation to N5m and N10m, respectively. The updated guidelines issued by the CBN now place maximum withdrawals for individual and corporate organisations at N500,000 and N5m, respectively.
“The Ondo State Government is asking the Supreme Court to decide whether the guidelines issued by the Federal Government on the maximum daily cash withdrawal and the continuous suffering and hardship caused by the implementation of the said policy is not in conflict with the express provision of Section 2 of the Money Laundering Act, and sections 20, 39 and 42 of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act.
“The Ondo State Government averred that while it has more than 149 ministries, departments and agencies to run on a daily basis in a state with more than three million people, less than 500,000 people have bank accounts through which bank transfers can be made. Consequently, the policy of the Federal Government has totally paralysed the economy of the state.
“The Ondo State Government averred that the citizens of Ondo State now spend precious hours at bank ATMs waiting to collect the new naira notes, while citizens in the rural areas and villages without banks and Internet facilities had been shut out from receiving or transferring money to meet their daily economic needs.”
The government urged the apex court to intervene and stop further implementation of the policy.
Policy ill-timed – Ganduje Meanwhile, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, on Thursday, met with bank managers, representatives of the CBN, security agencies and other stakeholders at an interactive session.
This was contained in a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Abba Anwar, on Friday.
The meeting, according to Anwar, took place at Africa House, Government House, Kano.
“The policy is a good one, but the implementation is poorly executed and ill-timed. The poor implementation is either a display of incapacity and/or as a sign of sabotage,” Anwar quoted Ganduje as saying.
The governor said the implementation of the policy was not aimed at economic development, but for destroying democracy and causing confusion.
Ganduje was quoted as saying, “Implementation of the policy is our major concern and problem. Not the policy itself. If you want to implement such a policy, there is a need for you to make public enlightenment and engagement with stakeholders before you arrive at the implementation stage.
“If you want to implement any policy as a leader, you need to take many things into consideration. People are suffering.
“You cannot successfully implement a policy without properly planning for it. You need strong institutions if you want to implement this kind of policy.”
He added, “Probably, the people targeted by the poor implementation of this policy are not even suffering like other citizens. Something must be done to ameliorate this hardship being faced by our people.
“Since we are facing what I now call COVID-23, we are making all preparations towards distributing palliatives again.”
The federal government of Nigeria has directed depot operators to sell premium motor spirit (PMS) also known as petrol at the official price of N172 per litre to independent markets.
This follows the supply of over 150 million litres of petrol to the Ijegun tank farm in Lagos State, which accounts for up to 35 per cent of national consumption volume, making it critical in ending the distribution crisis.
Officials of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) gave this directive while speaking on 𝕹𝖔𝖇𝖑𝖊 𝕽𝖊𝖕𝖔𝖗𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘’ known Media while on a site inspection to the Ijegun Tank farm on Friday.
NMDPRA also assured that independent fuel marketers under the aegis of Independent Petrol Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) will now get petrol at the ex-depot price of N172 per litre like their major marketers’ counterparts.
This will enable them sell petrol at N184 per litre in the West and South or N194 in the Northern parts of the country as approved by the regulator.
Ripples Nigeria had reported, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), Mele Kyari, stated that government has earmarked N3.36 trillion to spend on subsidy for January to June.
He further noted that there was no need for marketers to sell above the pump price as the government had been paying at least N185 for every litre of petrol.
Kyari’s words: “We transfer products to oil marketing companies at N113 per litre so that we can establish a market price of N170.
This was a year ago. That is the basis of all the estimates, now there are some adjustments that have brought us to the reality of the cost of vessels that I have mentioned over and over and that adjustment took us to a different level in terms of logistics. But what NNPC has kept is the transfer price from our landing location to the marketing companies.
“So, yesterday’s (February 6) data showed that these products will land in this country at N295 per litre, which means you have to sell it at N113 to the marketing companies so that they will be able to maintain the current subsidy regime that we are running. It means that you have N185 per litre of subsidy on every product that comes into this country.
“If you look at the average we have done of 63 million litres from January 2023 till date, and convert it to 365 days, that means you need N4.2 trillion to meet the fuel subsidy requirements for the country.”
The numbers were contained in Wema bank‘s financial result which was submitted to the Nigerian exchange.
Other details from the bank’s financials includes gross earnings at N129.3 billion in the full year of 2022, up 38.1 percent from N93.63 billion in the full year of 2021.
Interest income grew 39.5 percent to N104.4 billion in December 2022 from N74.8 billion in December 2021.
Wema Bank’s interest expense jumped 52.3 percent to N53.21 billion in the full year of 2022 from N34.92 billion in the full year of 2021.
Operating income grew 31 percent to N74.08 billion in December 2022 from N56.6 billion in December 2021.
The bank’s personnel expenses climbed 28 percent to N21.32 billion in December 2022 from N16.67 billion in December 2021.
Loans and advances to customers increased to N524 billion in December 2022, a 25 percent increase from N418.86 billion in December 2021.
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The Council of State meeting convened by President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday, at the Presidential Villa came to an end with most of the participants backing the Federal Government’s naira redesign policy.
The meeting which had the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, former President Goodluck Jonathan, former Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar and General Yakubu Gowon in attendance physically, however, advised Buhari to consider making the old naira notes available in the interim if the Central Bank of Nigeria, the policy implementer cannot readily make the new naira notes available to the citizens.
Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku, his counterpart, the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu including the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami took turns to reveal part of what transpired at the meeting.
Ishaku said the Council of State members made it clear that the policy is accepted and has come to stay but that the resistance of the populace to its introduction was also not misplaced.
According to Ishaku, the Council acknowledged that at the beginning people resist a policy even though it is good.
He said the Council which only plays an advisory role observed that the problem was that of implementation, considering that the majority of Nigerians are subjected to suffering.
Asked what was the major position of the President, who is at the centre of the policy, the Taraba Governor said the President directed state governments to go to their respective states to proffer solutions, by way of ensuring that they help to ease the tensions being experienced in the country.
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On the level of preparations for the general elections set to kick off February 25th and March 11th respectively. The AGF, Malami said the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) gave enough assurance that nothing can hinder the Commission from going ahead with the elections.
He said the Inspector General of Police, Alkali Baba equally gave assurance that its men and officers were ready to support the Commission to see that the polls go hitch-free.
The position of the Federal Government was also corroborated by Governor Sanwo-Olu who said the policy stands but that the Council agreed that there was a need for aggressive action with regard to the provision of the new currency.
The Zamfara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has reacted to the claim by the former Deputy Governor of the state, Barrister Mahdi Aliyu Gusau, that he has discovered 16 wards where elections will not hold.
In a press statement issued by the State APC Publicity Secretary, Mallam Yusuf Idris Gusau, the party challenged the former Deputy Governor to mention the bandits’ locations in the state.
“APC and the state government want to immensely thank the lawyer politician for this good information that will help in ensuring the disbandment of the criminals wherever they may be in our dear state.
“As has always been the plea of Governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle for all well meaning Zamfara State citizens to join hands with his administration in sacking all terror groups and enclaves from the state.
“We also wish to urgently implore security agencies in the state to immediately invite Barrister Mahdi, who had visited such wards, to help with more details of his findings to save the state and its good citizens.
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‘We have always been saying that members of the opposition PDP know some, if not all, of the bandits in the state; this will certainly be an opportunity for the PDP to use such knowledge positively by divulging information that will help the state.
“The PDP and the former Deputy Governor, in particular, owe it as a duty to the state to immediately give details on this matter.
“It must, however, be noted that banditry and other heinous crimes have significantly been decimated in Zamfara State and other parts of the North West through the sustained efforts of the federal and state governments,” the statement read.
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, on Thursday promised to supply commercial banks with plenty of funds to address the new Naira note scarcity in Kogi State.
Kogi CBN Branch Controller, Ahmed Sule, made the vow while speaking with NAN in his office in Lokoja.
Recall with 𝕹𝖔𝖇𝖑𝖊 𝕽𝖊𝖕𝖔𝖗𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘 𝕸𝖊𝖉𝖎𝖆 that protesters had on Wednesday picketed some commercial banks over purported non-compliance with the apex bank’s directive to make the new notes available to citizens across the nation.
According to Sule, the scarcity of the new Naira might have resulted in some commercial banks not opening for customers on Wednesday and Thursday.
He said, “I wish to announce to you that we’re expecting our stock of the New Naira notes very soon for distribution to the commercial banks operating here in Kogi.
“We’re aware of the difficult times our fellow citizens are in right now, and we expect the [commercial] banks to help ameliorate the people’s sufferings by dispensing as we so directed them.
“We’ll soon invite them [commercial banks] to come for their allocations as we’re expecting it today, being Thursday.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has waded into the current naira scarcity in Nigeria by calling on the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to extend the cash swap policy deadline beyond February 10.
The international monetary institution which is the first global body to openly call for an extension of the cash swap policy, made the call shortly after the Supreme Court gave a ruling temporarily restraining the FG and the CBN from enforcing the deadline.
In a statement in Abuja on Wednesday issued by Laraba Bonet, on behalf of IMF’s Nigerian resident representative, Ari Aisen, the IMF said it hinged its plea on the hardship Nigerians were going through.
“In light of hardships caused by disruptions to trade and payments due to the shortage of new bank notes available to the public, in spite of measures introduced by the CBN to mitigate the challenges in the banknote swap process, the IMF encourages the CBN to consider extending the deadline should problems persist in the next few days leading up to the February 10, 2023, deadline,” part of the statement said
The Nigerian stock market recovered from Tuesday’s loss with a 0.23 per cent rise in the equity capitalisation on Wednesday, which reflects a N69.33 billion gain.
Following the growth, the market capitalisation closed at N29.64 trillion, above the N29.57 trillion it settled at on Tuesday.
The federal government Wednesday filed a preliminary objection challenging the application by Kaduna, Zamfara and Kogi states against the implementation of the February 10 currency swap deadline.
In the objection filed by Mahmud Magaji (SAN), the federal government argued that the suit ought not to have been brought before the Supreme Court as the reliefs sought were against an agency of the federal government, the CBN on its powers to withdraw old banknotes and introduce new ones under the CBN Act, 2007.
The federal government argued that the Federal High Court had the proper jurisdiction to entertain such suits under Section 251(1)(a)(p)(q) & (r) of the Constitution (exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal High Court).
While contending that the action before the apex court constituted an abuse of judicial process, the federal government said the state governments have no locus standi and reasonable cause of action to warrant the “invocation of the original jurisdiction of this honourable court.”
Before the objection by the federal government, the Supreme Court earlier yesterday ordered the CBN to allow the use of the old N1000, N500 and N200 notes beyond February 10 and fixed February 15 to hear the case.
A seven-member panel of justices presided by Justice John Inyang Okoro made the restraining order in a unanimous ruling.
Arguing the motion, counsel to the governors of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states, Abdulhakeem Mustapha (SAN) said the matter was important and had come with an affidavit of urgency.
But Magaji Mahmud (SAN), who announced appearance for the Attorney-General of the Federation, was not heard by the apex court being an ex parte motion.
It is just an order not a judgment- Presidency Source
Reacting to the Supreme Court order, a source in the Presidency said: “Generally speaking, it is not a judgment, it is just an order. An ex-parte order is a constitutional leverage specifically given to judges to make an order in exceptional circumstances granting the request of an applicant in a suit in the interim without hearing from the other party.
“The order is only temporary. The judge will hold a full hearing within a short period of time,” he said. Millions of Nigerians have been thrown into confusion following the mopping up of over 1.7trillion old naira notes and the glaring unavailability of the redesigned notes.
The development had led to endless queues in banking halls and ATMs as well as demonstrations in parts of the country.
Extend time – IMF
Lending its voice, the IMF said the CBN should consider extending the February 10 deadline for the swapping of old naira.
The Fund in a statement on Wednesday cited disruptions in trade and payments resulting from the exercise.
“In light of hardships caused by disruptions to trade and payments due to the shortage of new bank notes available to the public in spite of measures introduced by the CBN to mitigate the challenges in the banknote swap process, the IMF encourages the CBN to consider extending the deadline, should problems persist in the next few days leading up to the February 10, 2023 deadline,” Ari Aisen, the Fund’s Resident Representative to Nigeria, said.
Buhari receives Emefiele, Malami
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday met with the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele as well as the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The meeting was held a few hours after the Supreme Court had restrained the federal government from enforcing the deadline of old naira notes.
Daily Trust findings revealed that Emefiele had met with Malami twice on Tuesday ahead of the Supreme Court judgment.
Tinubu/Shettima Campaign Council hails S/Court
The presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu has hailed state governors for standing on the side of the Nigerian people over the CBN new naira policy.
Tinubu in a statement by Bayo Onanuga, the Director, Media and Publicity, APC Presidential Campaign Council, said the governors and especially the APC governors who instituted the suit against the CBN and federal government at the Supreme Court acted well on behalf of the hapless Nigerians who have been made to bear the brunt of naira redesign policy that has been “poorly implemented.”
Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State, said the governors have saved the country from needless political and economic crises and miseries, which have clearly become the unintended consequences of the monetary policy of the apex bank.
Also, Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has urged the residents of the state, particularly traders, to stop taking the old notes to bank for deposit.
The governor also urged the people to continue transactions with the old notes, saying nobody can stop them even as the February 10 deadline approaches.
The governor also promised the traders and the people of the state that nobody in the state will lose his hard earned money because of the naira redesign policy.
El-Rufai in a video clip seen by Daily Trust on Social media, made the comment on Tuesday at a meeting with leaders of traders in the state. He told them to pass the message to others in their state to stop taking their money to banks.
“Stop taking your money to banks because when you deposit nine naira only one naira will be given to you because the notes are scarce.
“The law says if you have old notes with you even if it takes 100 years and you take it to the central bank it will be accepted. So keep your money with you even if it will take you 100 years,” he said.
Experts proffer solution as IMF seeks deadline extension
Economists and financial experts said yesterday that the only way to resolve the financial crisis in the country is to restore normal cash flow to restart the economy and ease the pains millions of Nigerians are going through.
The experts told the Daily Trust that the issues could be resolved when the right thing is done.
The CEO of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr Muda Yusuf, welcomed the restraining order of the Supreme Court on the timeline for the currency swap. He said the action will restore normalcy to economic activities, especially in the distributive trade sector, the informal sector and rural economy.
The CPPE reiterates its position that given the huge population of over 200million, the large informal sector, which accounts for over 40% of the GDP, the large rural economy and the over 30 million unbanked Nigerians, the CBN cash swap model and timeline was greatly flawed.
“It is inappropriate to arbitrarily cut down on currency in circulation without due regard to data, empirical studies and global best practices,” he said.
According to Yusuf, “We affirm our position that N2.6 trillion in circulation is not too much for the Nigerian economy with a GDP of about N250 trillion. Any attempt to arbitrarily cut it will create a crisis.
“It is unacceptable that citizens are denied access to their cash deposited for purposes of cash swap. This could undermine the confidence of the citizens in the banking system and pose a major risk to the financial inclusion objective of the CBN.
“In Nigeria, cash to GDP ratio is less than 1.5%; while cash/money supply ratio is just about 5%. These are some of the best currency ratios globally and a mark of the remarkable progress that has been made in cashless policy drive. Cash to GDP in the United States is about 9%; in the Eurozone it is about 10%.
“This underlines the fact that cash is not the problem of the Nigerian economy or monetary policy effectiveness. CBN Ways and Means financing of over N22 trillion is a much bigger problem for liquidity management.
“It is regrettable that a purely monetary policy management issue has been profoundly politicised as witnessed in the past few weeks. This has obscured fundamental economic conversations,” he said.
Also speaking, an economist, Prof. Uche Uwaleke noted that it will be difficult to quantify how much money is in circulation that will determine if Nigeria’s economy is cashless or not. He, however, said that the CBN should increase supply of the new notes and expand its supply channels.
“If CBN says maximum over the counter withdrawals for a week is N500, 000 for individuals, then it should expand the supply chain for the new notes.
“The micro finance banks and more PoS operators should be involved in the supply chain. Also, the lower denominations should be printed more to ensure that the new notes reach Nigerians, especially traders that carry out their functions,” he said.
On the other hand, he urged the CBN to obey the order of the Supreme Court on the February 10 expiration of old notes.
“All over the world, especially where central banks are independent, the conduct of monetary policy is their exclusive preserve- a responsibility not encumbered by either the executive arm or the Judiciary,” he said
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, on Wednesday, accused petroleum marketers of frustrating the Federal Government’s efforts at making petrol available to Nigerians.
Sylva, who addressed State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja, said the government has done everything required to make the product available to Nigerians but the efforts were thwarted by the marketers. Watch Video Here
The minister said President Muhammadu Buhari was worried over the long queues at petrol stations across the country
He, however, assured the citizens that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and other stakeholders were working hard to address the problem. Watch Video Here
Queues in filling stations surfaced in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, and other parts of the country in the latter part of last year with marketers selling the products at between N200 and N250 per litre to the surprise of Nigerians.Watch Video Here
Sylva said: “At the moment today, there is supply but unfortunately, we are experiencing some bottlenecks in the distribution and movement of the product to various destinations.
“We have reports of profiteering by marketers and I have directed the pricing regulatory agency, Nigerian Midstream, and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority to sanction anybody who profiteers in this kind of situation.”
The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari, has said that the prolonged queues across the filing stations in the country as a result of fuel scarcity was not unique to Nigeria.
Kyari, who spoke on a Channels Television’s interview, 2023 Verdict on Tuesday night, admitted things were out of control, branding the fuel scarcity in the country as a “glitch” to be resolved soon.
The NNPCL boss blamed the development on paucity of supply, saying they were on top of the situation.
He thus apologized to Nigerians on the crisis and assured it would ease soon.
“Having fuel queues is really not something that is local to any one country. It happens everywhere – whenever you have either breaches of pipes, pipeline issues, and so on,” Kyari said.
“We don’t hope that this happens to our country but you must have guarantee of supply in your country, which is why we are focused on delivering our refineries rehabilitation projects, so that ultimately this product becomes close to us.
“We have no benefit in doing this. We are families. We are members and part of this community. We are very proud of this country.
“We would like this country to prosper. We don’t want Nigerians to suffer and of course as a matter of condition, we don’t think that anyone should go through this thing.
“Now, this hasn’t happened. The refineries’ rehabilitation is not completed. The Dangote Refinery hasn’t taken off. Both of them will happen; once that happens, you have the safety and security of supply near you.
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“I’m not saying that you’re going to have zero queues within the next one week. No, I can’t guarantee that because a number of things are out of our control.”
“I apologise for the situation. On behalf of all of us, the stakeholders in the oil and gas industry. Definitely, not surely exclusive. Having said this, it is unfortunate. It’s a glitch and we are responsible to resolve this glitch.
Nigerians have been thrown into untold hardship courtesy of severe fuel scarcity in the country, with attendant implications for the economic activities of Nigerians
In light of the protests springing up in different parts of the country as a result of fuel and cash scarcity emanating from naira redesign policy, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adamu Garba, has charged Nigerian government to come up with decision solutions.
The recent redesign of currency leading to the scarcity of naira had frustrated Nigerians into brutal protests, especially in Lagos, Abeokuta, Ibadan and Ondo.
Despite President Muhammadu Buhari’s promise to address the crisis within seven days, the policy has continued to take its toll on vulnerable Nigerians.
Garba, who commented on the development in a series of tweets on Tuesday, condemned Nigerian government’s inactiveness on the crises.
The former lawmaker said the policy as well as the biting fuel scarcity, if not decisively looked into, might truncate the progress and democracy of the country.
He wrote: “Everything needs to be done by the government to fix the Naira/Fuel scarcity issue and stop the ongoing protest in Abeokuta. I learned that Ondo is planning the same. South West is a beacon of our democracy and we should not forget the history of how Operation Wetie started.
“We must remind ourselves that no one will get anything when Nigerians are not happy. Not the Government, the politicians, the opposition, or the public If the policy is not working, then it is simply not working. It should be reserved, carefully planned, and re-implemented.
“We should avoid any tension or unnecessary grandstanding that could lead to the truncation of our peace, prosperity, or worst of all, our democracy.
Nigerian currency, the naira recorded a positive outing against the US dollar at the official foreign exchange market on Tuesday.
Details from FMDQ securities where Investors and Exporters (I&E) buy and sell officially shows that at the end of trading naira appreciated by 0.14 percent or 67 Kobo to close at N461.50/$1 compared with Monday’s value of N462.17/$1.
This occurred as the value of FX transactions at the official market window depreciated by 39.1 percent or $47.85 million. At the close of trades, the turnover for the session stood at $74.58 million compared with the $122.43 million recorded at the previous session.
Also, in the parallel market wing of the FX market on Tuesday, the Naira regained strength against the American Dollar after it gained N3 to sell at N750/$1, in contrast to the preceding day’s N753/$1.
But in the Peer-2-Peer (P2P) forex segment, the Naira showed no movement against the United States Dollar, closing flat at N761/$1 yesterday.
This same scenario played out in the interbank window of the market, where the domestic currency was flat against the Pound Sterling and the Euro at N555.40/£1 and N496.32/€1, respectively
Due to the scarcity of the new naira notes which has caused hardship to Nigerians, a civil society group in Edo State, Edo Civil Society Group led by Comrade Agho Omobude on Tuesday blocked the main entrance of the Central Bank of Nigeria in Benin City.
As a result of the protest, vehicles coming into the Ring Road through Akpakpava were forced to go through Igun Street to Sokponba before linking up with Ring Road.
The protesters called on the appropriate authority to make the new naira notes available to reduce the suffering of Nigerians who are presently going through hell to access their money, while urging the CBN to start giving out N100, N50 and N20 notes if the new notes were not available.
Omobude said the naira swap policy at this time was a deliberate attempt by the central bank governor, Godwin Emiefele, in connivance with the Federal Government to subject the masses to untold hardship.
He vowed that the group would remain at the entrance of the bank until the head of the central bank, Benin branch, came out to address them on the situation, adding that it was inhuman to continue to allow Nigerians to remain in this suffering.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, says all arrangements have been concluded to produce a new minimum wage for Nigeria on or before May 2024.
Ngige also warned organised labour and other trade unions to desist from meddling in government affairs and attempting to impose their will on it about appointment decisions.
He spoke in Abuja Tuesday at the Nigeria Labour Congress’ 13th National Delegates’ Conference.
He alleged that trade unions were violating the terms of the Trade Union Act which mandated that all newly elected trade union officials take required courses at the Michael Imuodu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS).
According to him, undergoing training at the institute would help the labour leaders to gain the necessary knowledge and develop into seasoned Industrial Relations authorities.
“The good story that filters out from it is that we put out an Act, a legislation that had in place an inbuilt review five years mechanism, unlike the formal Act. So, mandatorily, Nigeria will produce a new minimum wage on or before May 2024
“It is acknowledged, both nationally and internationally, that government would not interfere in trade union matters and likewise, trade unions are not to interfere in labour administration unless as provided by the laws and principles of tripartism.”
He noted that trade unions are not mandated to dictate to the government on the appointment of public officials.
Ngige further enjoined the NLC to ensure the implementation of the Employees’ Compensation Act (ECA) 2010 by State Governments.
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His words: “This has resulted in many workers not being covered by the ECA Act for injuries and even deaths sustained in the place or course of employment.
“The NLC should remedy this situation as the welfare of workers is one of the cardinal functions of Trade Unions including the Confederations.
“In this regard, it should be noted that the PENCOM Act 2014 makes it mandatory for all employers to give Insurance Cover for workers employed by them.”
An emergency meeting of the Council of State, convened by President Muhammadu Buhari will hold on Friday to discuss national crises including petrol and naira scarcity, insecurity and others, ahead of the general elections.
The national crises had led to protests in various parts of the country.
𝕹𝖔𝖇𝖑𝖊 𝕽𝖊𝖕𝖔𝖗𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘 𝕸𝖊𝖉𝖎𝖆 gathered that the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is expected to provide an update on the new currency redesign policy scheduled to take place at the Council Chambers, Presidential Villa, Abuja, at 10 am.
Credible Presidency sources told this paper that the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu as well as the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, will brief the council on the preparation for the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections as well as March 11 governorship and state houses of assembly polls.
The meeting, 𝕹𝖔𝖇𝖑𝖊 𝕽𝖊𝖕𝖔𝖗𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘 𝕸𝖊𝖉𝖎𝖆 learnt, will take major decisions to douse tension ahead of elections and avert a potential national crisis given anger over the scarcity of new naira notes. The National Council of State is an organ of the Nigerian government whose functions include advising the executive on policy making.
Membership of the Council comprises President Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, former presidents, former heads of state, former chief justices of Nigeria, President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, governors of the 36 states of the federation and the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN).
Afenifere sets agenda for council
Pan Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, Tuesrday set the agenda for the Council of State ahead of its meeting.
Coming against the backdrop of the naira scarcity and fuel shortage, which has crippled businesses, the group said there must be solutions to the current challenges from the Council of State meeting.
National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Comrade Jare Ajayi in a chat with Daily Trust, said Nigeria is in a critical moment and tasked members of the council to come up with pragmatic solutions to the crises at hand.
He said, “This is a momentous period in Nigeria given the number of lives that have been lost, given the number of businesses that have collapsed and are in danger as a result of the unavailability of naira, people are queuing in the banks to get the cash they don’t get the cash.
“A lot of lives have been lost in the process and of course, a lot of people are queuing in the petrol stations, they are not getting fuel.
“And within the next few weeks, we would be undergoing elections. We are calling on President Muhammadu Buhari and all the past presidents and heads of state as well as governors and retired chief justices and all those who are members of the Council of State to realise that this is a crucial moment in the annals of Nigeria.
“We are saying that first, CBN must flood the commercial banks with cash, especially new currencies. Two, the deadline must be extended. February 10 is certainly unrealistic. It must be extended for at least the next three months.
“Afenifere is insisting that February 10 is unrealistic for Nigerians to be able to get the currencies.
“On the issue of fuel scarcity, NNPCL must be geared up. What we are experiencing is not what we should be experiencing given the fact that God endowed us with crude oil. We shouldn’t be suffering and coming at a time when we are facing this election, it is also something terrible about our country. So the petrol scarcity and currency crunch must be addressed.
“Also the need to ensure free, fair and credible elections must attract the attention of the council of state. So that tomorrow we would hear that the president has extended the deadline for the currency swap from February 10 to at least the next three months and then, of course, all necessary machinery must be put in place to ensure free, fair and credible elections.”
Efforts to get the northern elders to set agenda ahead of the council meeting yielded no result.
We need cash to conduct elections – INEC
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has assured the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as well as Nigerians that the apex bank would not do anything inimical to the success of the 2023 general elections.
The CBN governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, gave the assurance on Tuesday when he hosted the INEC management led by its chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, at the CBN headquarters in Abuja.
Yakubu who spoke earlier told the CBN governor of the impact of the naira redesign policy on the successful conduct of the elections.
The INEC boss, therefore, requested concessions regarding the naira redesign policy with specific reference to the limitations placed on cash withdrawals and the need to make some cash available for some peculiarities that cannot be met with electronic transfer of monies.
According to him, some of the service providers, especially transporters are required to be paid in cash and aside from that, experience has shown that emergencies do arise on election day, which could demand the use of cash by the commission.
“I am encouraged by the continued willingness of the apex bank to support the commission’s determination to deliver credible elections on February 25 and March 11, 2023. Particularly, the facilitation of activities necessary for the success of the election, in an area where the CBN has exclusive responsibility.
“Nigerian election is a huge and complex undertaking that requires the engagement of critical services and in line with the provisions of the extant laws and regulations, service providers are generally paid by means of electronic transfer to the accounts.
“However, there are equally critical areas, such as transportation and human support services that have to be immediately remunerated, either partially or in full before services are rendered.
“In addition, emergency situations may arise requiring immediate cash payments. Some of the critical service providers are unbanked. Over the years we have worked with the CBN and commercial banks to pay for such services seamlessly during general elections, as well as off-cycle and bye-elections.
“Over the years, the commission has also migrated all its accounts at the national and state level to the CBN. And this arrangement has worked without encumbrances to our activities. In view of the recent policy, involving the redesign of some denominations of our national currency and the limits placed on cash withdrawals and availability. We consider this meeting important in addressing some of the areas of concern with just 17 days to the 2023 general election.
“We are confident that arising from this meeting, we can assuage the anxiety expressed by some of our service providers who are determined to make the 2023 general election one of the best-organised elections in Nigeria, but we cannot do it alone. That is why the commission is mobilising every critical national institution for the success of the election. This meeting is part of this effort,” Yakubu said.
Responding, Emefiele said he would ensure the CBN is not seen as an agent to thwart the forthcoming general election, assuring that the apex bank would provide INEC needed naira notes as required.
“The relationship between the CBN dates back to even before I became the governor and that relationship, I will say, borders purely on trust and confidence.
“We also appreciate and truly do appreciate the fact that the INEC supported by the Nigerian populace has the trust and confidence in the ability of the central bank in playing the roles that we have played for you so far to ensure that our elections hold without any hitches. Before now, we’ve been involved in the storage of INEC election materials and involved using our armoured bullion van in transporting electoral materials.
“I know that just a few months ago, I visited your office and you raised the issue of how foreign exchange can be procured for you to import Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and other forms of election material that need to be imported and I gave you my word that foreign exchange will be provided for that purpose. I stand here to confirm that as of today, all dollars that are needed to import those items have been provided and those items have been imported.
“So, it’s all part of our commitment. Now this issue of pain and logistics for people who are going to be transporting election materials, certainly, the assurance I give to you is that because we regard the INEC project as a topmost or an urgent national assignment, and therefore, it cannot fail and the central bank would not allow itself either to be used or to be seen as an agent that frustrated a positive outcome of that election.”
President meets Tambuwal, Bagudu, CBN gov, others at Aso Rock
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday held a closed-door meeting with the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State as well as the Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), Governor Atiku Bagudu Abubakar of Kebbi State at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
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The meeting was attended by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha and Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, governor of CBN, Godwin Emefiele and the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa.
Last Friday, the president had implored citizens to give him a seven-day window, which lapsed on February 10 to resolve the currency crunch that had emanated from the implementation of the Central Bank policy to change high-value naira notes with newly designed ones after a meeting with the All Progressives Congress (APC) governors.
Buhari had equally assured that he would be meeting with both the CBN and the Nigeria Security Printing and Minting Company and a decision would be taken based on current realities in the best interest of the people.
The governors of the ruling party had asked that the president direct an adequate injection of the new notes and the continued utilisation of the old ones until the end of the year.
The governments of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states have sued the federal government and the CBN before the Supreme Court over the currency redesigning and “de-monetisation” policy.
However, an FCT High Court had on Monday restrained the CBN, President Buhari and 27 commercial banks from extending or sabotaging the currency redesigning and cash withdrawal limit policy in the country.
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) request for the extension of the deadline for swapping of old Naira notes to the redesigned ones.
A seven-day grace period, beginning on February 10 to February 17,2023, has also been approved to enable Nigerians to deposit their old notes at the CBN after the February deadline when the old currency would have lost its Legal Tender status.
10-day extension of the deadline from January 31, 2023, to February 10, 2023; to legitimately held by Nigerians and achieve more success in cash swap in our rural communities after which all old notes outside the CBN losses their Legal tender Status.”
Whiile, “A 7-day grace period, beginning on February 10 to February 17,2023, in compliance with Sections 20(3) and 22 of the CBN Act allowing Nigerians to deposit their old notes at the CBN after the February deadline when the old currency would have lost its Legal Tender status.”
This followed the President’s meeting with the apex bank’s governor, Godwin Emefiele, in his country home in Daura, Katsina State on Sunday.
Emefiele briefed correspondents after the meeting, revealing that 75 percent of the N2.7 trillion held outside the banking system has been recovered.
He said, “We are happy that so far, the exercise has achieved a success rate of over 75 percent of the N2.7 trillion held outside the banking system. Nigerians in the rural areas, villages, the aged and vulnerable have had the opportunity to swap their old notes; leveraging the Agent Naira Swap initiative as well as the CBN Senior staff nationwide sensitization team exercise.
“Aside from those holding illicit/stolen Naira in their homes for speculative purposes, we do aim to give all Nigerians that have Naira legitimately earned and trapped, the opportunity to deposit their legitimately trapped monies at the CBN for exchange.
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Based on the foregoing, we have sought and obtained Mr President’s approval for the following:
Our CBN staff currently on mass mobilization and monitoring together with officials of the EFCC and ICPC will work together to achieve these objectives.
“We therefore appeal to all Nigerians to work with the Central Bank of Nigeria to ensure a hitch free the implementation of this very important process for program.”
Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has dismissed reports making the rounds that it had directed members to suspend operations across the country.
IPMAN President, Chinedu Okoronkwo, in a telephone conversation with 𝕹𝖔𝖇𝖑𝖊 𝕽𝖊𝖕𝖔𝖗𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘’ known Media on Tuesday, dismissed the report as untrue.
Similarly, IPMAN’s National Operations Controller, Mike Osatuyi, had in a statement in Lagos on Monday, said the insinuation that marketers planned to shutdown operations should be disregarded.
Osatuyi said Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPCL) was preparing the logistics to start supplying petrol to IPMAN members directly.
However, an unverified statement dated 6 February, 2023 and signed by IPMAN Chairman, Maiduguri deport, Mohammed Kuluwu, has been making the rounds on the social media.
Kuluwu in the statement directed members to suspend all operations.
He also ordered marketers to suspend the payment of ordering products from source until further notice.
The statement reads: “Following the critical situation as it affects our sourcing and selling of product at lost (sic) and the action of the authority to impose the selling of product at a lost price (sic) on our side.
“You are all hereby directed to suspend selling at all filling stations and also suspend the payment of ordering products from source until further notice”.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday held a meeting with representatives of the state governors and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
Also present at the meeting which held behind closed doors at Aso Villa, Abuja was the chairman Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa.
Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Aminu Tambuwal; and the Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum, Atiku Bagudu represented state governors.
Details from the meeting have not been made public as at the time of this report, but feelers suggest it may have been called to discuss and find a solution to the cash crunch which has hit the nation in recent times, over the cash swap and naira redesign policy of the apex bank.
Though details of the meeting was not made public, it comes after a meeting originally scheduled with the Nigerian Governors’ Forum was cancelled.
State House sources however, believe the meeting was cancelled following a court order that stopped the Federal Government from extending the February 10 deadline for the swapping of three old naira notes set by the CBN
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should have introduced N5,000 notes to avoid the hardship Nigerians are facing due to the Naira redesign, the Director-General of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Sola Obadimu, has said.
According to NACCIMA DG in a report by NAN on Monday, embarking on the currency redesign was a bad move by the apex bank.
Recall with 𝕹𝖔𝖇𝖑𝖊 𝕽𝖊𝖕𝖔𝖗𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘 𝕸𝖊𝖉𝖎𝖆 that the head of the central bank, Godwin Emefiele, disclosed in October 2022 that the N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes would be redesigned to mop up the N2.7 trillion in circulation.
Although the financial regulator denied any plan of introducing N5,000 notes, it went ahead to release the aforementioned denominations in December, stating that the old version would cease to be legal starting from January 31, 2023.
The apex bank later extended the deadline to February 10, 2023, after public outcry over the shortage of the new Naira notes in commercial banks.
𝕹𝖔𝖇𝖑𝖊 𝕽𝖊𝖕𝖔𝖗𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘 𝕸𝖊𝖉𝖎𝖆 understands that the transition from the old Naira to the redesigned currencies has not been successful with Nigerians protesting at banks due to the inability to withdraw and buy goods.
NACCIMA DG said introducing N5,000 was the solution to mopping the N2.7 trillion in circulation, “If I were the CBN governor, all I would have done was to have introduced a N5,000 note.”
Obadimu also stated “That would have helped to mop up the money in circulation without the kickbacks we are getting. Because it is a higher denomination, fewer amounts of bills would have been printed.”
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Meanwhile, he supported the call of the CBN that Nigerians should embrace a cashless society, but he said the country wasn’t ready yet, as banks find it difficult to refund customers after a transaction declines.
He said, “For instance, when a financial transaction declines, you get debited and the bank cannot refund you for up to three weeks even if the transaction is to the same bank.”
Obadimu stated further, “So, for the urban network to improve and for the rural areas to catch up, the government has to invest heavily in infrastructure so that every part of Nigeria will be digitised.”
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