ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Supreme Court of Nigeria has restrained the Federal Government of Nigeria from implementing the 10 February Deadline set for 200, 500 and 1000 naira notes, as legal tenders.
Also, the court held that the Federal Government of Nigeria, the apex Bank and the commercial banks must not continue with the deadline pending the determination of a notice in respect of the issue on 15 February.
Following this ruling, the old naira notes continue to be legal tenders in Nigeria.
The CBN had on 26 October, 2022, announced its plan to redesign the three banknotes.
President Muhammadu Buhari subsequently unveiled the redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 notes on November 23, 2022, while the apex bank fixed a January 31 deadline for the validity of the old notes.
The CBN also pegged its weekly cash withdrawal limits to N500,000 for individuals and N5m for corporate firms.
With cries by many Nigerians, the apex bank extended the deadline from January 31 to February 10, saying it got the approval of the President.
Buhari, on Friday, after a meeting with some APC Governors asked for seven days to make a major decision on the policy.