According to TheCable, President Muhammadu Buhari is considering extending the validity of old naira notes by 60 days.
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This is to avoid violating the Supreme Court of Nigeria’s order, which stated that the old N1,000, N500, and N200 notes will remain valid until the Supreme Court renders its decision in the case filed by some states against the federal government.

The CBN had insisted that the February 10 deadline would not be changed, but a senior government official told TheCable that Buhari was concerned about the hardships that Nigerians would face as well as the legal ramifications of defying the constitutional court’s order.

According to the official, this was the focus of a meeting between presidency officials and the leadership of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) that lasted until the early hours of Wednesday.

The governors were then expected to drop their case before the Supreme Court.

“The resolution was to allow President Buhari to make monetary policy concessions and make the following announcements public,” the official explained.

“One, that old N200 naira notes be allowed free movement in and out of banks for the next 60 days.

“Two, that all three notes will be legal tender during this period, but that any old N500 or N1,000 that goes into a bank will not be sent back into circulation.”

While others were “on the same page as the president,” Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna state, insisted on the policy’s total cancellation, according to the official.

Buhari, who had earlier missed the federal executive council (FEC) meeting by 40 minutes to monitor the Supreme Court’s decision, was disappointed that the governors had broken their promise to withdraw the case.

Following the meeting on Wednesday, he met with CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele and Modibbo Tukur, Director of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), to discuss the need to allow all old notes to circulate in the system in order to alleviate hardship on ordinary Nigerians.

“The president will not defy the courts. But he is also concerned about Nigerians’ suffering and wants to find a long-term solution,” the official added to TheCable.

“It is clear that some militancy is being propagated against the people by the elite who have the means to secure the new notes no matter what while the people continue to suffer.

“The president will continue to engage and look for a way out of the impasse.”

Editor’s note: A slight correction has been done to the story to reflect that only old N200 notes will be allowed to go in and out of the banking system till April 10. Banks will not accept old N1,000 and N500 notes under the upcoming concession.

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