The Supreme Court docket of Nigeria has dominated that the previous 200, 500 and 1,000 naira notes stay in circulation till Dec. 31, 2023, successfully nullifying the naira redesign beforehand introduced by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. The introduction of redesign sought to part out the usage of the previous naira notes.
A seven-member panel of the courtroom, led by John Okoro, mentioned in a unanimous judgment that President Buhari issued the directive with out session.
The courtroom mentioned the federal authorities ought to have consulted with the state authorities via related our bodies, together with the Nationwide Council of States and the Nationwide Financial Council, earlier than embarking on such a venture.
The Supreme Court docket went on to declare Buhari’s directive withdrawing the previous notes from circulation as unlawful and an affront to the 1999 Structure. The courtroom additionally issued one other order nullifying it and prolonged the authorized tender standing of the foreign money notes till Dec. 31.
A comparability between the previous naira banknotes (left) and the canceled new notes (proper)
The pronouncement is amongst 9 declarations and orders issued by the Supreme Court docket in a judgment on the swimsuit filed by some state governors difficult the president’s directive.
In late 2022, Buhari ordered the withdrawal of the 200, 500 and 1,000 naira notes by Jan. 31, 2021 after introducing the newly designed variations of the banknotes, which had been briefly provide.
Associated: eNaira is ‘crippled‘: Nigeria in talks with NY-based firm for revamp
The directive, described as a “demonetization coverage” by some state governors against it, has created a shortage of banknotes, creating disruption within the monetary system and hardship for tens of millions of residents.
The shortcoming to entry money because of the shortage of banknotes additionally affected many companies.
With an already current pegged most ATM withdrawal quantity of 20,000 naira ($43), this has additionally affected crypto customers in Nigeria who need to change tokens to fiat for native enterprise transactions and day-to-day expenditures.
Nevertheless, this new ruling by the apex courtroom has shed hope on the supply of money for transactions.
https://cointelegraph.com/information/naira-redesign-no-more-president-s-directive-canned-by-nigerian-supreme-court