The supreme court docket of Nigeria has dominated that the previous N200, N500, and N1,000 naira notes stay in circulation until Dec. 31, 2023, successfully nullifying the naira redesign beforehand introduced by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. The introduction of redesign sought to section out using the previous naira notes.
A seven-member panel of the court docket led by John Okoro mentioned in a unanimous judgment that President Buhari issued the directive with out session.
The court docket mentioned the federal authorities should have consulted with the state authorities via the related physique,together with the Nationwide Council of States and the Nationwide Financial Council, earlier than embarking on such a coverage.
The Supreme Courtroom went on to declare Buhari’s directive withdrawing the previous notes from circulation as unlawful and an affront to the 1999 Structure. The court docket additionally issued one other order nullifying it and prolonged the authorized tender standing of the foreign money notes until Dec. 31.
The pronouncement is amongst 9 declarations and orders issued by the Supreme Courtroom in a judgment on the swimsuit filed by some state governors difficult the President’s directive.
Late final 12 months, Buhari ordered the withdrawal of the N200, N500 and N1,000 notes by 31 January 2021; after introducing the newly designed variations of the banknotes, which have been quick in provide.
Associated: eNaira is ‘crippled‘: Nigeria in talks with NY-based firm for revamp
The directive, described as a “demonetization coverage” by some state governors against it, has created a shortage of banknotes, creating disruption within the monetary system and hardships for hundreds of thousands of residents.
The shortcoming to entry money because of the shortage of banknotes throughout the interval additionally affected a number of companies.
With an already current pegged most ATM withdrawal quantity of N20,000 ($43), this has additionally affected crypto customers in Nigeria who wish to change tokens to fiat for native enterprise transactions and day-to-day expenditures.
Nonetheless, this new ruling by the apex court docket has shed hope on the supply of money for transactions anytime.
