Naira scarcity: We never anticipated behavioural problems trailing redesign policy — CBN

…As Malami, Tinubu fight dirty over Supreme Court ruling

…Nigerians ignore FG’s Feb. 10 deadline, continue transactions in old notes

…Shun banks for deposits

Olaseinde Gbenga, Abuja

After fierce resistance, protracted heat on Nigerians and  aggressive reactions leading to protest, authorities of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Thursday, admitted that the ongoing problems associated with the Naira redesign and cash withdrawal policy were not anticipated.

A Deputy Governor of the apex bank, Folashodun Shonubi, made the admission at the 22nd Fellowship Conferment Lecture and Ceremony organised by the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) in Abuja.

While delivering a lecture titled, “The intricacies of the naira redesign and its benefit to Nigerians,” Shonubi explained that contrary to public opinion, the redesign plan which has been in the works for two years was not to punish anyone but to improve the economy.

According to him, some extraneous behaviour which were not envisaged took over the stage to worsen situation beyond control.

The Deputy Governor who stated that challenges faced were caused by a new line of business created by indigenous Nigerians, revealed that numerous benefits have been achieved which include retrieval of N2 trillion to the banking system.

He said, “As you know, Nigerians are very ingenious and we created a whole new line of business for people that we never envisaged.

“An aspect of that is queuing, where you sell your position on the queue for money. Night crawling, where you wait till night, collect numerous cards from your friends and family and go to an ATM and empty them using different cards and then take the cash to sell.

“So, it’s been a bit stressful to be honest because we did not anticipate this kind of behaviour.”

Shonubi, however, noted that the challenges would be short-lived as the apex bank will do everything within its reach to salvage the current situation.

“I believe that sooner rather than later, the stress ongoing in relation to money would reduce,” he assured.

…Malami, Tinubu fight dirty over supreme court ruling on old notes

The All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has lambasted the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami for asking the Supreme Court to dismiss a suit challenging the Naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The preliminary objection was filed on Wednesday by the AGF through his lawyers – Mahmud Magaji and Tijanni Gazali.

Recall that on Wednesday, the Supreme Court temporarily halted the Federal Government’s move to stop the use of old Naira notes on February 10, 2023.

This was stated in a ruling given by a seven-member panel led by Justice John Okoro for an ex parte application brought by three northern State Governments of Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara.

The three States had specifically applied for an order of Interim Injunction restraining “the federal government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) or the commercial banks from suspending or determining or ending on February 10, 2023, the time frame with which the now older version of the 200, 500 and 1,000 denomination of the naira may no longer be legal tender pending the hearing and determination of their motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.”

On Wednesday, Mr. A. I. Mustapha, SAN, counsel for the applicants, urged the Supreme Court to grant the application in the interest of justice and the well-being of Nigeria.

He stated that the policy of the government had led to an “excruciating situation that is almost leading to anarchy in the land.”

While referring to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) statistics indicating that more than 60 per cent of Nigerians do not have bank accounts, Mustapha lamented that the few Nigerians who do have bank accounts are unable to access their funds as a result of the policy.

However, the Nigerian government in its preliminary objection argued that the Supreme Court lacks the jurisdiction to entertain the suit.

President Muhammdu Buhari’s government is also asking the court to strike out the suit.

According to the defence lawyers, the suit falls within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal High Court in matters of monetary policy of an agency of the Federal Government.

“The claims or reliefs are not against the federation, but the Federal Government and its Agency, the Central Bank of Nigeria. The Federal Government of Nigeria is distinct from the Federation or the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Plaintiffs have no grievance whatsoever against the federal government.

“This suit has disclosed no dispute that invokes this (Supreme) Court’s original jurisdiction as constitutionally defined,” the AGF said.

However, reacting to the move by the AGF, spokesman for the Presidential Campaign Council of the APC, Bayo Onanuga, branded the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN), as well as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, as Nigeria’s “public enemies.”

In a tweet he posted on his official Twitter account, @aonanuga1956, on Wednesday night, Onanuga condemned the objection filed by Malami, tagging him along with the CBN Governor as an enemy of Nigeria.

“Abubakar Malami is also a public enemy like Emefiele,” he said.

In another tweet, the Tinubu spokesman wrote, “Never in our history have we witnessed a Central Bank governor such as Emefiele desecrating the office as he does.

“Now he is organising protest against the Supreme Court for quashing the unreasonable deadline of his naira swap.”

This came amid numerous protests and attacks on banks by angry Nigerians due to the inability to access cash for their regular transactions.

….Nigerians ignore FG’s Feb. 10 deadline, continue trade in old notes

Meanwhile, Nigerians appear to have disregarded the February 10 (today) deadline set by the Federal Government through the CBN for the termination of old notes from being legal tender, as the masses in cities across the Country were still largely trading in the old notes.

Checks in major cities across the Country and suburbs, on Thursday evening, revealed few hours to the deadline, the old notes were largely still in use for transactions by citizens, while many shunned banks to deposit the old notes.

The scarcity of the new Naira notes of N200, N500, and N1,000 has left Nigerians with no choice than to hustle for the old notes which were still much more in circulation than the new equivalents. The scarcity had created tension as bank customers whose money have been inaccessible from banks due to unavailability of the Naira notes have resorted to protests in some States in-country over the hardship inflicted by the scarcity. The development had led to destruction of some banks’ facilities, leading banks shutting their doors in some States in the Country.