For the third time, President Muhammadu Buhari met with Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele at the Presidential Villa Abuja, yesterday, with the later keeping mum after the meeting.
Since the launch of the new naira notes of N1,000, N500, and N200 in December, 2022, public access has been difficult owing to its scarcity at banks, ATMs and Point of Sales (PoS) terminals across states of the country.
It was learnt that yesterday’s meeting between Buhari and Emefiele had to do with issues bordering on the Naria scarcity. However, after the meeting, the CBN boss declined to speak with journalists.
The meeting comes 24 hours after governors of the platform of Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), described the CBN Naira re-design and cash withdrawal restrictions policy as draconian and infringing on rights of Nigerians to use legitimately earned income as they wish.
The governors had also directed states Attorney Generals to join suit in suit at the Supreme Court to grant an interim injunction stopping the Federal Government either by itself or acting through the CBN, the commercial banks or its agents from carrying out its plan of ending the timeframe on February 10 within which the now older versions of the 200, 500 and 1000 denominations of the Naira may no longer be legal tender. The ex-parte motion was filled on their behalf by AbdulHakeem Uthman Mustapha.
On February 8, the Supreme Court in a ruling halted the move by the Federal Government to ban the circulation of the old Naira notes by February 10.
Justice John Okoro led a seven-man team of justices to temporarily stop the government’s deadline while ruling in an exparte application brought by three northern governments of Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara states.
The judge adjourned until February 15 for hearing of the main suit.
SUN NEWS
