James Harrison and Kamsi Anayo
President Muhammadu Buhari and the Governor of Central Bank, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, have held a discreet meeting at the Presidential Villa.
The meeting followed about three hours after a seven man panel of justices led Justice John Okoro ruled against the move by the Federal Government to ban the circulation of the old Naira notes by February 10, 2023.
Justice John Okoro led the 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 on Wednesday.
Not long after the ruling the CBN Governor hurried to the villa to hold a meeting with the President.
The Network gathered that the meeting held briefly and no briefing was made after the meeting,
“Emefiele just came in and went in to see the President. The meeting did not last long. “ the source said
The Supreme Court on Wednesday suspended the Feb. 10 deadline for the swap of old naira notes with new ones given by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The CBN had moved the deadline earlier set for the expiration of the legal tender status of the old notes from Jan. 31 to Feb. 10 after the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, met with the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).
Pockets of protests had broken out in some states including Delta, Ekiti, Ogun, Oyo and Ondo, with officials of banks being attacked by protesters and bank properties destroyed.
Moreover, the Naira redesign policy has caused some wrangling within the ruling All Progressives Congress with some chieftains of the party alleging that the policy is targeted at reducing the winning chances of the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, at the Feb. 25 poll.
Tinubu had Alden made some comments in some of his campaign rallies which were believed to be directed at Buhari and some unnamed persons in the Presidency, a notion that the APC PCC spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, had continued to dismiss.
Not favourably disposed to the Naira redesign policy, the Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, granted an interview to Arise TV where he said some “elements” in Aso Rock working against the ambition of Tinubu were behind the naira and fuel crises in the country. He also alleged that Buhari was “deceived” by the CBN to give a nod to the controversial naira redesign policy.
Shortly after, Some APC governors El-Rufai and two other APC governors —Yahaya Bello of Kogi State and Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State — dragged the CBN and the Federal Government to the Supreme Court, seeking a halt to the full implementation of the naira redesign policy initiated by the apex bank.
The Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday temporarily halted the move by the Federal Government through the CBN to ban the use of the old naira notes from Feb. 10, 2023.
The ruling is an “interim injunction” — not a complete stop to the naira redesign policy — pending the hearing and determination of the case filed by the APC governors.
Justice Okoro of the Supreme Court held that, “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 Feb. 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 an interlocutory injunction.”
Hearing of the case is fixed for Feb.15.