The Bayelsa State Government has called on business operators, banks, traders and transporters in the state to obey the Supreme Court ruling directing that the old N1,000 and N500 notes circulate side by side with the new ones till December 31.
It announced this in a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information, Orientation and Strategy, Ayibaina Duba, on Saturday.
The government came up with this 24 hours after some residents of the state capital, Yenagoa, staged a peaceful protest against the rejection of the old N1,000 and N500 notes by businesses, banks, filling stations, eateries, traders and transporters in the state.
Duba said that the state government was not against the currency redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria, but faulted its implementation method which had brought suffering to the people.
“The government, therefore, urges business operators in the state, particularly banks, traders and keke (tricycle) to take into consideration the Supreme Court ruling in order to reduce the pains of people of the state”, he said.
The statement read, “Bayelsa State government has said it understands the pains of residents of the state following the implementation of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s naira redesign policy and the Supreme Court ruling on the old N200, N500 and N1000 currency notes.
“The government thus urges residents to be calm and not engage in acts that could jeopardize the peace of the state.
“The government notes that on March 3, the Supreme Court ruled that the old notes, which had been phased out by the CBN, remain legal tender till December 31 this year.
“While the state government is not against the naira redesign policy of the CBN or the federal government, it is however not comfortable with the method of its implementation that has resulted in further hardship on people of the state and, indeed, the country.
“The government, therefore, urges business operators in the state, particularly banks, traders and keke (tricycle) to take into consideration the Supreme Court ruling in order to reduce the pains of people of the state.
“The government also calls on the CBN to take immediate steps to ease the burden of doing business in the state by making implementation of the policy less cumbersome.”