APC announces emergency meeting with state governors over FG’s Naira redesign policy
National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Adamu, has invited state governors under its platform to a emergency meeting at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.
The meeting slated for Sunday, February 19, is expected to deliberate on the next line action following President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive on the old Naira notes, and the declaration by some state governors with a counter-directive to their states’ residents to defy the President’s order.
State Governors of Kaduna, Kano, Lagos and Ogun have already issued statements telling resident in the state to continue using the old Naira notes, as they threatened to clamp down on businesses and individuals who reject the old notes.
According to the state governors who are all under the ruling APC, rejecting the old Naira notes goes against the ruling of the Supreme Court which had on February 8 asked the Federal Government to stay action of the implementation of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) deadline on use of old notes.
The Court also at its resumed hearing last Wednesday, February 15, reaffirmed its stance, saying the order subsists.
Following the expiration of its deadline on February 10, the CBN outlawed the use of the old N200, N500 and N1000 notes in as legal tender, under its Naira redesign and cashless policy. The deadline was initially set for January 31, 2022.
However, in a nationwide broadcast, Thursday morning, President Buhari approved the reintroduction of only the old N200 notes to co-exist with the new note as legal tender till April 10, this year.
The country’s Supreme Court had already fixed February 22 as date for resumed hearing on the suit filed by three state governors of Kaduna, Zamfara and Kogi challenging the CBN and Federal Government Naira redesign policy.
There has been reported widespread unrest in many parts of the country as Nigerians continue to lament scarcity of the new naira notes, worsened by the rejection of the old currencies by commercial banks and other business outlets operating in the country.
Riots broke out in Warri, Delta State, Benin City, in Edo, parts of Ogun, Lagos, Kano, Ibadan in Oyo earlier in the week as demonstrators attacked commercial banks’ properties.
On Friday, CBN state offices were besieged by crowd of depositors who sought to take advantage of the window of opportunity created by the regulatory bank for return of the old Naira notes.
