Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state has backed the Supreme Court judgement extending the validity of old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes till December 31, 2023.
According to Wike, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN has no option, but to comply with the decision of the apex court.
Wike stated this when he joined his Oyo State counterpart, Seyi Makinde to commission the Oyo State 5,000,000-litre Aviation Fuel Dispensing Depot at the Ibadan Airport in the Alakia area of the state on the Friday.
He said, “I thank God the Supreme Court today has told them the old money remains valid till the end of December
“So, if you still have the old money, use it. The highest court of the land has said so.
Meanwhile, Wike also called for true federalism and restructuring, saying there are many resources that should be controlled by state governments and not the Federal Government.
He said the Federal Government should refund Oyo State the money the government invested in the aviation fuel project or hand over the airport to the Makinde-led government.
“That is why we are talking about true federalism; that is why we are talking about restructuring. Certain things that the Federal Government gives to itself but will not perform. All they do by the end of the month is to collect a high percentage and begin to do all kinds of things,” he said.
Recall that the apex court had earlier nullified the Federal Government’s naira redesign policy, declaring it as an affront to the 1999 Constitution.
The court said the policy has led to some people engaging in trade by barter in this modern age in a bid to survive.
While the legal battle lingered, sixteen states led by Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara prayed to the apex court to void and set aside the policy on the ground that it is inflicting hardships on innocent Nigerians.
The CBN had extended the deadline for the swap of old N200, N500, and N1,000 from January 31 to February 10 following complaints by many Nigerians but the Supreme Court, after a suit filed by the states, held that the Federal Government, the CBN, commercial banks must not continue with the February 10 deadline pending the determination of a notice in respect of the issue.
However, President Muhammadu Buhari, in a national broadcast, directed the apex bank to release old N200 notes into circulation to co-exist with new N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes for 60 days — by April 10, 2023. He also said old N500 and N1,000 banknotes cease to be legal tender in Nigeria.
But, on Friday, the apex court voided the President’s declaration as well as the naira redesign deadline issued by the CBN and said disobedience of the February 8 order is a sign of dictatorship.
Source; Vanguard News
