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Tag: Naira redesign

  • I did not receive MOM on Naira redesign, says ex-CBN director

    I did not receive MOM on Naira redesign, says ex-CBN director

    A former Director of Currency Operations at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Ahmed Umar, on Tuesday told a FCT High Court that the minutes of the meeting of CBN management on Naira redesign was not sent to him.

    Umar said this while testifying as the prosecution first witness (PW 1) in the alleged naira swap case filed against Godwin Emefiele , the suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor.

    In the four-count charge filed against him, the EFCC alleged that Emefiele disobeyed the direction of law with intent to cause injury to the public during his implementation of the naira swap policy of the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

    He is standing trial before Justice Maryann Anenih.

    Umar said that he signed the memorandum for the redesign of the naira in 2022.

    When asked to comment on an Oct. 26, 2023, Meeting of the Committee of Governors (CoGs) of the CBN, he said:”the minutes of the meeting was only circulated among members of the CoG”.

    Led in evidence by EFCC counsel, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, Umar said that the management of the apex bank directed his department (Currency Operations) to “come up with a memo on the redesign of the naira notes in Aug. 22, 2022”.

    Umar stated that upon completion of the task, a  memo was submitted to the CoG and subsequently listed for consideration.

    The witness added that the CoG which comprises of the CBN governor as chairman and four deputy governors as members, on Oct. 26, 2022, held a meeting via zoom to deliberate on the memo his department submitted.

    He disclosed that he had joined the meeting only “to make my presentation and exited ” afterwards.

    Umar further disclosed that after the meeting the Corporate Affairs Department conveyed anticipatory approval of the CoG pending ratification by the Board of Directors (BoD).

    The BoD he said is made up of 12 members, comprising the CBN boss as chairman, four deputy governors, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Accountant General of the Federation and five external members appointed by the president.

    Speaking further, the witness said that “the CoG did not approve items 1 and 3, while item 2 was modified to include the N200 denomination”, he said.

    “The proposal for the exercise to take place in 2023 was not accepted by CoG”, he added.

    The witness stated that a memo was afterwards prepared for consideration of the BoD and “it was considered on Dec. 15, 2022”.

    On the procedure for the issuance of naira notes, the witness stated that the BoD will have to recommend to the president for the design of the forms and devices that shall be contained in the currency.

    “After the approval of the president, production of the currency will then begin “, he said.

    The witness will continue his evidence on Wednesday.

    NAN reports that in count one, Emefiele was accused of approving the printing of 375,520,000 notes at the cost of N11 billion, in count two he was accused of approving the printing of 172 million coloured swapped N500 notes at the cost of N4.4 billion.

    Also in count three, the suspended CBN boss was alleged to have approved for printing 137,070, pieces of coloured N200 notes at the cost of N3.4 billion.

    In count four he was alleged to have withdrawn the sum of N124, 860, 227, from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation in a manner not prescribed by the National Assembly.

  • Naira redesign: Nigerians lose money, disquiet over CBN’s silence on court ruling

    Naira redesign: Nigerians lose money, disquiet over CBN’s silence on court ruling

    During a recent trip from Delta State to Lagos State, Onajite Umukoro, who travelled with a popular transport line said she had to part with an extra N2, 000 because she did not have cash and opted  to pay for her journey electronically.

    “I was told that the trip would cost N12, 000 if I had cash and N14, 000 if they were to take it from my account. So because I didn’t have cash, I paid N14, 000 using my ATM card,” she told TheNewsGuru.com (TNG).

    Folake Adeniran residing in Sagamu in Oyo State said she has been unable to stock her house for the past one week due to the scarcity of cash in circulation.

    “I have been trying to get cash for more than a week now but it has been unsuccessful. The queues at the banks are ever so long and the POS operators say they also don’t have cash to give.

    “At the market here in Sagamu, traders reject online payments and insist on cash. Just today, I tried to buy plantain to prepare food for my family but the seller would not accept transfer. So one has money in the bank but can’t access it. We’re just managing to eat anything we can find. It’s really sad,” Adeniran said.

    The slow rate of circulation of money in the economy or low liquidity has persisted in Nigeria despite a Supreme Court ruling last Friday extending the validity of the N200, N500, and N1,000 Naira notes till 31 December.

    A seven-member panel of the court led by John Okoro, held that the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari for the redesign of the new notes and withdrawal of the old notes without due consultation was invalid.

    Emmanuel Agim, a member of the panel, who read the lead judgement, condemned the President’s refusal to obey the Court’s order given on 8 February, for the old N200, N500, and N1,000  to continue to serve as legal tender pending the determination of the suit filed by three state governors but later joined by 13 others.

    Buhari had issued a broadcast on 16 February directing that only the N200 notes should be recirculated, while the N500 and N1000 remained banned.

    “It is not in doubt that the President refused to comply with the order of the court that the old 200, 500, and 1,000 naira notes should continue to be legal tender.

    “Disobedience of order of court shows the country’ democracy a mere pretension and now replaced by autocracy. This suit is meritorious,” the Court said.

    A final ruling by the Court on the matter delivered on 3rd March has not abated the cash scarcity situation and has left citizens more confused about the position of the  government, especially as neither the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) nor the President have publicly indicated willingness to comply with the verdict.

    In some parts of the country such as Lagos, some commercial banks began to reissue the old  N500 and N1000 bank notes to customers, but spending the money has posed a challenge as business owners remain sceptical of accepting the old currency in exchange for a product or service.

    The Governor of Ondo State  Rotimi Akeredolu, on Thursday condemned the rejection of the old naira notes by residents and the informal sector of the economy in a state-wide broadcast.

    Akeredolu said: “For the avoidance of doubt, the court ordered that both the new and old notes should not only coexist but be accepted and used side by side by all Nigerians until the end of this year when the proper elimination and substitution of the old currency notes would have been completed”.

    TNG observed that in most cases, business owners demanding cash payments would ask to know which version of the naira notes a customer had before commencement of a transaction and although more traders were now embracing online payments, they arbitrarily charged an extra fee which they say is the cost of converting the electronic payment to cash.

    Interestingly too, the majority of traders in markets and businesses sampled by this newspaper were not using the traditional online payment platforms owned by commercial banks, especially after most of them experienced service failure in the wake of implementing the cashless policy weeks ago.

    Our reporter observed that digital wallet platforms which bridge the financial exclusion gap while making transactions a lot easier and faster, have been the choice for many business owners, especially in Abuja and Lagos.

    A digital or electronic wallet is a software, electronic device or online service that enables individuals and businesses to make transactions, such as receive money, send money, buy airtime, pay bills, and make online payments everywhere from their mobile phones instantly.

    While some Nigerians are adapting to the new way of doing business, many expect that the CBN or President Buhari, would give a clear directive on whether or not the old N500 and N1000 can be used as legal tender until 31st December, in line with the Court’s ruling.

    A concerned Nigerian Nwokolo Uju, said: “The Central Bank should let us know if the old N1000 and N500 naira notes are still legal tenders because they have created confusion in the country. Their silence on this issue is malicious”.

  • Naira redesign: It’s a soothing relief to all Nigerians-Adegboruwa, SAN hails SC verdict

    Naira redesign: It’s a soothing relief to all Nigerians-Adegboruwa, SAN hails SC verdict

    …Buhari should immediately effect order

    A senior lawyer Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN has hailed the Supreme Court over its verdict on nullifying the ban on use of the old N200, N500 and N1000 banknotes.

    Olu-Adegboruwa reacted immediately after the court verdict declaring that the judgement is a courageous confirmation of the sanctity of the rule of law and due process in a democracy.

    The senior lawyer noted that the judgment is a soothing relief from the hardship that Nigerians have been subjected to, over the past few weeks, on account of this rather thoughtless policy.

    He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately direct the Central Bank of Nigeria to comply fully with the judgment of the Supreme Court, as stated under section 287(1) of the Constitution and allow ALL the N200, N500 and N1000 old Naira notes to be circulating along with the Naira new notes till December 23, 2023.

    He said: “The judgment of the Supreme Court delivered today on the arbitrary and capricious redesigning of Naira notes is a
    courageous confirmation of the sanctity of the rule of law and due process, in a democracy.

    “It is a soothing relief from the hardship that Nigerians have been subjected to, over the past few weeks, on account of this rather thoughtless policy.

    “The court should always be the platform for the resolution of all disputes by all aggrieved persons. I salute the sagacity and courage of the justices of the Supreme Court for rising up to rescue Nigerians from the pangs of death, frustration and looming economic recession.

    “As there is no room for further appeal against the judgment of the Supreme Court, I urge the President to immediately direct the Central Bank of Nigeria to comply fully with the judgment of the Supreme Court, as stated under section 287(1) of the Constitution and allow ALL the N200, N500 and N1000 old Naira notes to be circulating along with the Naira new notes till December 23, 2023.

    “Across all our land today, there will joy in many homes, businesses will bounce back and Nigerians will find cause to celebrate their freedom from all forms of dictatorship and arbitrariness”.

    Recall that the Supreme Court, on Friday, nullified the ban on use of the old N200, N500 and N1000 banknotes as legal tenders.

    The apex court, in a unanimous verdict by a seven-member panel of Justices, held that the old banknotes should remain valid legal tenders until December 31.

    It held that the old Naira notes should be used alongside the redesigned currencies.

    It faulted President Muhammadu Buhari for introducing the demonization policy, without due consultation with the Council of States, the Federal Executive Council, the Civil Society and other relevant stakeholders.

  • Just In:Supreme Court declares N200, N500, N1000 legal tender till Dec 2023

    Just In:Supreme Court declares N200, N500, N1000 legal tender till Dec 2023

    Finally, the Supreme Court, on Friday, nullified the ban on use of the old N200, N500 and N1000 banknotes as legal tenders.

    The apex court, in a unanimous decision by a seven-member panel of Justices, held that the old banknotes should remain valid legal tenders until December 31.

    It held that the old Naira notes should be used alongside the redesigned currencies.

    It faulted President Muhammadu Buhari for introducing the demonization policy, without due consultation with the Council of States, the Federal Executive Council, the Civil Society and other relevant stakeholders.

    Details shortly…

  • Currency in circulation has dropped to N1.38tn – CBN

    Currency in circulation has dropped to N1.38tn – CBN

    Following the naira redesign, introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria, the total amount of currency-in-circulation in the country has dropped from N3.29tn as of the end of October 2022 to N1.38tn as of the end of January 2023.

    According to figures from CBN, the country has witnessed a drop of N1.91tn in the three-month period.

    The Governor, CBN, Godwin Emefiele, had in October 2022, announced plans to redesign the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes.

    Emefiele also announced deadlines for Nigerians to swap their old with the new notes.

    “Accordingly, all Deposit Money Banks currently holding the existing denominations of the currency may begin returning these notes back to the CBN effective immediately. The newly designed currency will be released to the banks in the order of first-come-first-serve basis.

    “Customers of banks are enjoined to begin paying into their bank accounts the existing currency to enable them to withdraw the new banknotes once circulation begins.”

    In recent years, he said, the CBN had recorded significantly higher rates of counterfeiting especially at the higher denominations of N500 and N1,000 banknotes.

    He decried the challenges associated with currency management including significant hoarding of banknotes by members of the public, with statistics showing that over 80 per cent of currency-in-circulation was outside the vaults of commercial banks.

    Other challenges, he added included shortage of clean and fit banknotes with attendant negative perception of the CBN and increased risk to financial stability; and increasing ease and risk of counterfeiting evidenced by several security reports.

    The naira redesign and the suspension of old notes from being used as  legal tender led to scarcity of the currency in the country.

    To address the situation, president Buhari ordered the re-introduction of the old notes till April 3rd to cushion the effect of the scarcity.

    Although the global best practice was for central banks to redesign, produce and circulate new local legal tender every five to eight years, he said, the naira had not been redesigned in the last 20 years.

    “On the basis of these trends, problems, and facts, and in line with Sections 19, Subsections A and B of the CBN Act 2007, the management of the CBN sought and obtained the approval of the President to redesign, produce, and circulate new series of banknotes at N100, N200, N500, and N1,000 levels,” Emefiele said.

    Before the currency redesign plan of the CBN, huge figure of currency in circulation was recorded.

    According to the CBN, the currency in circulation rose by N58.36bn to N2.84tn in September 2022 from N2.79tn in August.

    The currency in circulation rose to N2.81tn in July, 2022 from N2.74tn at the end of June, 2022. It fell to N2.79tn in May from about N2.80tn at the end of April.

    Currency-in-circulation is defined as currency outside the vaults of the central bank; that is, all legal tender currency in the hands of the general public and in the vaults of the Deposit Money Banks, according to the apex bank.

    Many Nigerians have resorted to electronic transfer of cash to meet up with daily business transactions but failing banking networks still remain a stumbling block.

  • El-Rufai clears air on why governors are against new naira

    El-Rufai clears air on why governors are against new naira

    Nasir El-Rufai, Governor of Kaduna State, has explained why governors are against the naira redesign, saying it would prevent them from inducing voters during the forthcoming elections.

    According to El-Rufai, governors kicked against the policy as a result of the hardship it had brought upon the citizens, adding that the policy had pitched the All Progressives Congress against the citizens.

    The governor, who spoke in an interview on Monday, stressed that the currency redesign was not enough to stop voter inducements.

    He said, “We reviewed this policy and the hardship it put people into and the feeling of hatred Nigerians developed for the APC because Nigerians are putting the blame on the APC and the people who introduced the policy did it to make our party lose in the election.

    El-Rufai clears air on why governors are against new naira

    “After we finished our review, we agreed that the judgment of the supreme court should be followed, which is that the old and new notes should be used until the case is over.

    “Did vote-buying start today? Why was the money not redesigned before? Why now? Secondly, is vote-buying only done with naira? It can be bought using Dollar, Euro, CFA, and you can give the voters food.

    “There are several ways through which you can buy votes. You cannot take money out of politics, but you can reduce it.”

    He maintained that the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, in connivance with opposition party members sold the policy to the president.

    El-Rufai said, “We are not against this policy because of vote buying. I swear to God, we are against it because of how we saw people suffering, not the elections.

    “The people who pushed for the naira redesign are not members of the APC. You see Godwin Emefiele, it was the PDP that brought him. The others with whom the decision was taken with them know them and when the time comes, will expose them because they are not members of our party.

    Because a president is a person who believes in people, and we (governors), our image has been tarnished. He has been told that governors are thieves which is why we are against the naira redesign policy

    “God willing on Saturday the masses will retaliate against those who want to drag our party to the ground. whom the APC gave an opportunity to get money more than what will be sufficient for them to do the shopping because some of them knew that shopping in their homes was difficult for them eight years ago, but now, they have more money than you could imagine.”

    El-Rufai said the president had refused to reverse the policy because he had been told governors are thieves.

    He said, “Because a president is a person who believes in people, and we (governors), our image has been tarnished. He has been told that governors are thieves which is why we are against the naira redesign policy.

    “Even if we go to him and say ‘our leader you have been lied to in this place’, and he says I understand and will take action on it, the moment we depart, he will be told not to take any action. Every person is a nine out of ten. In this regard, we believe the president made a mistake.”

  • Naira redesign: Sanwo-Olu decries extortive practice by PoS operators

    Naira redesign: Sanwo-Olu decries extortive practice by PoS operators

    Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has expressed displeasure over the extortive practices by Point of Sale (PoS) operators, as well as petrol station attendants.

    Sanwo-Olu said this while addressing newsmen on the current situation caused by the Naira redesign in the country, on Saturday at the Lagos House, Marina.

    He said that due to the situation, the operators had become extortive.

    Sanwo-Olu appealed to those involved in such behaviour to desist from such sharp practices.

    ”We have noticed with dismay the rampant incidents surrounding some of the players in the financial services value chain (PoS agents/operators); as well as petrol station attendants.

    ”They have taken the current challenges to mean an opportunity to extort hard-working and law-abiding Lagosians with extortionate service charges on funds withdrawal and sale of PMS.

    ”It is especially in difficult times like these that we all need to be our brothers’ and sisters’ keeper and do everything we can to contribute to lessening the hardships faced by our fellow Lagosians.

    ”This is not the period to sacrifice empathy, compassion, and humanity on the altar of profit making,” the governor said.

    He urged Lagos residents to resist the opportunists who sought to take advantage of the anger and frustration that were being felt to hijack the situation and foment trouble.

  • Naira redesign: Reps panel wants intervention to cushion Nigerians’ hardship

    Naira redesign: Reps panel wants intervention to cushion Nigerians’ hardship

    The House of Representatives ad hoc committee on naira redesign has called for an intervention to mitigate the hardship being faced by Nigerians due to the policy.

    Rep. Ado Doguwa, the Chairman of the committee said this in a statement in Abuja.

    Doguwa acknowledged that President Muhammadu Buhari had good intentions in wanting to use the policy to tackle insecurity, reduce corruption and engender the global best practice in fiscal policy management.

    He, however, said, that Nigerians were being subjected to unwarranted and avoidable hardship due to wrong timing of the implementation coupled with the

    actions of suspected criminal elements in the banking system.

    Doguwa said that the ripple effects of the policy could jeopardise the 2023 general election.

    “We also urge Nigerians to continue to be calm and pursue their lawful businesses within the ambit of the law.

    “We will continue to explore available opportunity to make sure that government does only what is right and in the overall interest of our people,” he said.

  • UPDATE: Naira Redesign: Six APC Govs join suit to halt ban on old notes

    UPDATE: Naira Redesign: Six APC Govs join suit to halt ban on old notes

    At the resumed hearing of the suit challenging the implementation of the naira redesign policy by Nigeria’s Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Wednesday, the Supreme Court was inundated with requests from nine state governors to join the case as co-plaintiffs.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) earlier reported that two of the three Governors who filed the suit – Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State and his counterpart Yahaya Bello of Kogi state were at the apex court on Wednesday to observe the proceeding. Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara state was conspicuously absent.

    The nine-man panel led by Justice John Okoro, adjourned the case after hearing a series of joinder applications from seven state governors (six from the APC and one from the Peoples Democratic Party) who expressed interest in the suit.

    The states are: Cross River, Ekiti, Katsina, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo and Sokoto states. Two other states – Bayelsa and Edo – also applied to be joined as co-defendants along with the Attorney-General of the Federation who was originally sued as the sole defendant in the suit.

    Meanwhile, the Supreme Court’s order on February 8, suspending the implementation of the February 10 deadline set by the CBN to end the legal tender status of the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes has been flouted.

    The National Council of State, last week, also advised the Federal Government to make new naira notes available or re-circulate the old notes to ease the sufferings of Nigerians nationwide as a result of the scarcity of cash.

    However, CBN’s Branch Controller in Bauchi Haladu Idris Andaza, insisted on Tuesday that the old notes were no longer legal tender.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state categorically that CBN is ready and is open to receiving all of those old notes based on certain conditions and criteria. Customers are free to come to the Bank and deposit which they cannot do at the Commercial Banks anymore because the currency has seized to be a legal tender since the 10th of this month,” Andaza said.

    He also provided guidelines on how the bank customers still in possession of the old notes can redeem them at any of the CBN branches nationwide.

    The Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele, also restated the Bank’s commitment to deepening the cashless policy, while briefing Diplomatic Corps on Currency Redesign on Tuesday.

    The presidency on Tuesday said that neither the Federal Government nor the CBN had taken a preemptive action on the legality of currency as a legal tender in view of the pendency of the case before the Supreme Court.

    Presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, in a message sent to journalists said: “The position of the government and the CBN will be made known upon the determination of the suit coming up tomorrow (Wednesday),” he said.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that the controversy has caused great confusion among Nigerians and while the old notes have been rejected in some states including Lagos and the FCT, there is a clampdown in others states like Kano and Katsina against persons or business enterprises who reject the old notes as means of legal tender.

    With Nigeria’s highly anticipated Presidential election barely 10 days away, It is not immediately clear if the Supreme Court will rule on the matter at the adjourned date, as Nigerians continue to wait in eager expectation.

  • BREAKING: Naira Redesign: Supreme Court Adjourns Suit till Feb. 22

    BREAKING: Naira Redesign: Supreme Court Adjourns Suit till Feb. 22

    Nigeria’s Supreme Court Wednesday, failed to give ruling on the naira redesign policy suit filed by three state Governors and has adjourned hearing to Wednesday February 22 2023.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that two of the three Governors who filed the suit – Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State and his counterpart Yahaya Bello of Kogi state were at the apex court on Wednesday to observe the proceeding.

    It was gathered that other parties showed interest in joining the suit when the case was mentioned for hearing and the Court subsequently adjourned the case for a week.

    The Supreme Court was filled to capacity as over 100 senior advocates of Nigeria were in attendance.

    More Details Later!