The FCT High Court has barred President Muhammadu Buhari and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from further extending the deadline for submission of old naira notes beyond February 10.
Justice Eleojo Enenche on Monday restrained “the Defendants whether by themselves, staff agents, officers, interfacing barks or whoever not to pend, stop, extend, vary or interfere with the extertermination date of use of the old N200, 500, end N1000 bank note being 10 day of February, 2023 pending the hearing and determination of Motion on Notice.”
The court ruling upstaged the action of Governors of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to compel the President Buhari and the CBN to extend the currency policy through an initial court proceeding on the same subject.
Four political parties; Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), and the National Rescue Movement (NRM) had sought the order and named president Buhari, CBN, Godwin Emefiele and 27 banks as defendants in the suit.
Some of the banks include Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, First Bank, Eco Bank, Wema Bank, Fidelity Bank, Provides Bank and others.
The three governors — Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna, Yahaya Bello of Kogi, and Bello Matawalle of Zamfara — had asked the Supreme Court for a temporary restraining order to stop president Buhari’s regime and the CBN from continuing the implementation of the naira redesign policy.
Supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and other politicians running for offices in the general elections vehemently opposed the February 10 deadline, have mounted pressure on Mr Buhari to extend the deadline for the validity of the old naira notes.
While some individuals have bemoaned the scarcity of the new notes and requested that they be made more widely available, others have hailed the naira redesign as a brave step to stop voter inducement at the general elections, which are just a few weeks away.
The court order is expected to end all agitations regarding the deadline for submitting the old currency notes.
