Why CBN Delaying Compliance With Supreme Court Ruling On Old Naira Notes

metro

2 years ago

Indications have emerged that inability of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to obtain the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Supreme Court’s judgement requiring reintroduction of the old notes is part of the reasons for the delay by the apex bank in sending official memo to deposit money banks (MMBs) for its full compliance and subsequent implementation.

Besides, MetroBusinessNews (MBN) also learnt that the drama-from introduction, controversies, opposition, litigation, reintroduction may have created bad blood between the proponents and opponents, within the political class to the extent that, show of power and bureaucracy, with the attendant red-tapism may have crept in.

But the confusion has created fears and apprehension among the banking public even as some stakeholders are warning that collecting old N1000 and N500 notes from banks may be risky as the DMBs may be acting on their own without official backing of CBN.

According to them, this is because such customers would not be able to deposit the same old notes in banks at the moment until the CBN orders commercial banks to start paying and receiving the old notes.

Following the ruling of the Supreme Court last week that the old notes should remain legal tender till December 31, 2023, some commercial banks have started paying customers the old notes.

Specifically, the Supreme Court ordered that certain denominations of old Naira notes be legal tender until December 31, 2021, reversing CBN’s directive to stop their use as legal tender.

However, a report from the News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) citing an anonymous staff member of the Federal Ministry of Justice, stated that the government must obtain the CTC before it can direct the CBN to comply with the judgment.

The sources added that efforts are said to be ongoing to obtain the CTC from the Supreme Court.

However, MBN checks show some banks are now complying with the judgment and are gradually paying customers and receiving the old naira notes.

The development has however not reduced long ATM queues across Lagos and other major cities days after the Supreme Court decision reversing the apex bank’s new naira notes’ introduction.

The Supreme Court had in a judgement passed last week chided the federal government for its naira swap policy, going as far as extending the deadline for swapping old for new notes till December 2023.

Some state governments have accused CBN policy of being politically motivated to favour opposition parties ahead of the elections.
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CBN is also yet to issue any official communication since the judgment was passed, though it has acknowledged publicly that both old and redesigned notes remain legal tender.

Some analysts say reassuring the public on a ruling by the highest court of the land without obeying it does not make it legal in the eye of the law.

The current apathy, they claim, is occassioned by alleged series of disobedient of court judgements by the federal government in the past.