The new Naira notes and the CBN Gov, Emefiele
By Foluso Adelaja
The pang of scarcity of the newly redesigned Naira and the quandary of whether to continue to spend the old notes or not may persist in the country for another couple of weeks, THE STATEPOST can now affirm.
The confusion of the masses, made worse by daily languish to survive following lack of money which is caused by the change to the newly redesigned Naira notes, the hurried termination of the old notes as legal tenders as well as the scarcity of the newly redesigned Naira notes will persist amidst Federal Government continued silence on the Supreme Court’s judgement which recently gave respite of about a year on the old notes to the spending public.
But the pervading confusion may abate in a fortnight as CBN has now announced a definite date for its Monetary Policy Committee meeting for March 2023 and this may be the much awaited respite which would show a way out of the quandary.
The two-day meeting of the 12-man Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the apex bank will be presided over by the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele in Abuja on Monday and Tuesday, March 20 and 21, 2023.
The MPC meeting is expected to review the Supreme Court’s judgment against the apex bank’s naira redesign policy and extension of the validity of old notes.
The judgment effectively overruled the CBN and federal government’s ban on using old N500 and N1000 notes and the April 10 validity for N200 notes.
The naira redesign policy was introduced in October 2022 by the CBN to reduce counterfeiting and drive cashless means of transacting in the economy.
However, the policy was challenged by state governors at the Supreme Court, citing masses hardship.
Supreme court ruling
Reading out the supreme court ruling, Justice Emmanuel Agim said the correct process for the redesign policy had yet to be followed.
It faulted President Muhammadu Buhari for introducing the policy without the Council of States, the Federal Executive Council, the Civil Society and other relevant stakeholders.
He said:
“The directive given by President is invalid. Such directive is not just handed down after personal conversation with the governor of CBN Central Bank of Nigeria”
Agim, therefore, revealed that the old naira notes would remain valid to relief citizens until December 31, 2023.
The judgment by the apex court, among other things, would form a significant part of the discussion for the CBN monetary policy committee.
The committee consists of the governor of the bank, who shall be the chairman; the four deputy governors; two members of the Board of Directors; three members appointed by the President and two members appointed by the governor.
The committee is also expected to review the current state of the economy and make decisions on critical issues such as interest rates, exchange rates, and inflation.
Analysts and investors alike will closely watch the MPC meeting for any indications of the CBN’s next steps.
