Emefiele disobeys Supreme Court ruling, says deadline won’t be shifted
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele has publicly disobeyed the Supreme Court ruling on the new naira policy saying the 10 February deadline for swapping old notes for new ones was not, and will not, be shifted.
“The situation is substantially calming down since the commencement of over-the-counter payments to complement ATM disbursements and the use of super-agents.
“There is, therefore, no need to consider any shift from the deadline of February 10,” he declared during a visit to the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Abuja on Tuesday to discuss the monetary and currency redesign policy.
Emefiele said Point-of-Sale (PoS) agents who charge above N200 for cash swaps will be arrested, prosecuted, and jailed when caught.
The Supreme Court on 8 February issued an order of interim injunction restraining the federal government and the CBN from enforcing the 10 February deadline for phasing out old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes.
The injunction was given pending the hearing today, 15 February, of a lawsuit brought by the three Northern states of Kaduna, Zamfara, and Kogi challenging the new naira policy.
The order came as a relief for Nigerians as large swathes of the country are in chaos because customers cannot withdrawal old or new naira notes from banks.
Emefiele refused to act on or comment on the court order until 14 February.
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Malami promises Abuja would obey court ruling
The CBN announced on its website on 14 February the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes ceased to be legal tender on 10 February.
That came after people had kept spending the old notes, some of which they retained in their pockets, based on the assurance federal Attorney General Abubakar Malami gave on national televisionthat Abuja would comply with the Supreme Court ruling.
Malami declared on Arise TV on 10 February the government was hopeful the ex parte ruling, which expires on 15 February, would be set aside by the Supreme Court.
“An interim order was granted by the Supreme Court and that order was to lapse on Wednesday (February 15) and incidentally, that was the day the court fixed for hearing of the motion,” he said, per reporting by The Gauardian.
“With the position in mind, we have taken steps to file our objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the matter.
“Jurisdiction on the ground that when you talk of monetary policy, Central Bank is an indispensable and necessary party in the matter.”
