2023: Why Old Naira Notes Must Not Return To Circulation Before 25th – Sani

Senator Shehu Sani, a former Kaduna Central lawmaker, has advised that the old naira notes should not be allowed to circulate in Nigeria before the February 25 presidential election.

The former Senator believes that if the notes are allowed to return to circulation on or before February 25th, Nigerians can say goodbye to credible elections due to the country’s level of poverty.

In the midst of a cash crunch and a legal battle between the federal government, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and some state governments over the legality of old naira notes as legal tender, Senator Sani warned on Wednesday via his Twitter account that the stashed old notes should not be shared on or before February 25.

He wrote: 

With the level of poverty in the country, forget about credible elections if the stashed old notes are allowed to be shared on or before the 25th of February.

With the level of poverty in the country,forget about credible elections if the stashed old notes are allowed to be shared on or before the 25th of February.

— Senator Shehu Sani (@ShehuSani) February 15, 2023

Supreme Court Adjourns Case

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court postponed the currency policy case before it until Wednesday, February 22.

The state governments of Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara dragged the Federal Government to the Supreme Court on February 3rd over the Central Bank of Nigeria’s(CBN) naira redesign policy.

The states urged the Supreme Court to order President Muhammadu Buhari, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and commercial banks to rescind the February 10 deadline for the use of the old N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes as legal tender in Nigeria.

CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele explained why there was still a scarcity of the new notes after weeks of unveiling the new currencies during today’s court session.

He said:

“Panic mop up of notes, the CBN has also noticed that some of our leaders are buying the notes and storing them for whatever purposes.

“We have also noticed that some Nigerians are catalysing the time transition to charge exorbitant fees, these selfish actions for personal monetary gains are causes of hardship for Nigerians and come at the expense of lives and livelihood.”