Cash swap: Buhari meets Emefiele after Supreme Court ruling

President Muhammadu Buhari has met with the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

This is coming hours after the Supreme Court temporarily stopped the February 10 deadline for the validity of old 200, 500, and 1,000 naira notes.

A seven-member panel led by Justice John Okoro halted the FG’s move in a ruling in an exparte application brought by Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara states on Wednesday.

The states, in a motion exparte filed before the Supreme Court, prayed the court to grant an interim injunction stopping the CBN from ending the timeframe within which the old 200, 500, and 1000 naira notes will cease to be legal tender.

The apex bank had extended the deadline for the collection of old naira notes to February 10, 2023.

It had earlier fixed January 31 as the deadline for the validity of old N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes.

The development generated reactions from Nigerians as there were calls for an extension of the deadline.

The Senate and House of Representatives had also called for an extension of the deadline.

The Star recalls that the apex bank announced plans to redesign the currency on October 26, 2022.

It later set December 15 as the official commencement date for the circulation of the new naira notes, which President Buhari unveiled on November 23, 2022.

The CBN later issued a revised cash withdrawal policy, stating that cash withdrawals above N100,000 and N500,000 for individuals and corporate organisations will attract processing fees of five per cent and 10 per cent, respectively.

The Star