Nigeria: Timeline

Right here is the timeline of main developments regarding the naira redesign coverage since its inception as much as Friday when the Supreme Courtroom is anticipated to provide its judgement.

The Supreme Courtroom will Friday ship its judgement on the propriety of the federal authorities’s naira redesign coverage. The coverage has brought on banknotes shortage with the related hardship it dropped at thousands and thousands of residents.

The Central Financial institution of Nigeria (CBN) introduced final 12 months the redesign of 200, 500 and 1,000 naira notes, and plans to finish using the outdated notes by 31 January 2023.

However acute shortage of the brand new notes made the 31 January deadline unfeasible, and prompted the financial institution, with the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari, to increase the authorized tender standing of the outdated notes until 10 February.

On 3 February, three state governments – Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara – citing the hardships the continued shortage of naira notes dropped at their folks, sued the federal authorities on the Supreme Courtroom for a reversal of the coverage.

5 days later, the court docket issued an interim order suspending the implementation of the deadline set by the federal authorities, directed that the outdated and new notes ought to proceed to flow into pending the decision of the case.

Unmoved by the court docket’s order, the CBN insisted that the outdated notes had stopped being authorized tender after the 8 February deadline whereas the shortage of the brand new notes endured.

In defiance to the Supreme Courtroom’s order, Mr Buhari on 16 February, restored the validity of the outdated N200 notes, insisted that the N500 and N1000 notes had ceased to be authorized tender.

The variety of plaintiffs rose to 16 after six new states had been added to the three preliminary plaintiffs through the listening to of the case on 22 February, three days to the nationwide elections held on 25 February.

The biting money crunch featured as a serious difficulty within the lead-up to the elections, with many fearing that it may derail the method.

The presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, stated throughout his campaigns that the dual issues of money crunch and the protracted gas shortage had been focused at him.

Many had anticipated that the Supreme Courtroom would make a pronouncement on the disobedience to its order through the 22 February. However the court docket adjourned its last judgement on the matter until 3 March.

Right here is the timeline of main developments regarding the naira redesign coverage as much as Friday when the Supreme Courtroom is anticipated to provide its judgement.

Timeline

26 October 2022:

The CBN introduced the introduction of the redesign of N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes. The CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, had stated the banknotes had been redesigned as a consequence of a request from the federal authorities. He disclosed that the brand new notes would start circulation from 15 December 2022, whereas the outdated banknotes would stay authorized tender and flow into collectively till 31 January 2023. The outdated notes had been to stop to be authorized tender on 31 January. The final time the central financial institution redesigned the naira was in 2014 when it modified the design of the 100 naira be aware to commemorate Nigeria’s centenary.

27 October 2022:

The central financial institution gave causes for the naira redesign coverage. Based on Mr Emefiele, the coverage would allow the CBN to take management of the naira in circulation, handle inflation, fight counterfeiting, and ransom fee.

28 October 2022:

Barely 48 hours after the forex redesign coverage was introduced, Nigeria’s finance minister, Zainab Ahmed, kicked towards it. Ms Ahmed stated the finance ministry was not consulted over the financial coverage. She expressed some reservations in regards to the penalties of the coverage on Nigeria’s economic system.

21 January 2023:

Following the outcry that trailed the non-availability of the brand new banknotes and lack of public consciousness, particularly in rural communities throughout Nigeria, the CBN launched a money swap programme in all native authorities areas of the nation. The programme which took impact from 23 January, allowed the outdated notes to be exchanged for the newly redesigned notes.

24 January 2023:

The Nationwide Meeting requested the CBN to increase the deadline for acceptance of the outdated naira notes. The higher and decrease chambers of the Nationwide Meeting urged the CBN to increase the deadline on the validity of the outdated naira notes by six months.

25 January 2023:

APC presidential candidate, Mr Tinubu, stated throughout a marketing campaign cease in Abeokuta Ogun State, that the naira design coverage was orchestrated to make sure his defeat within the election.

28 January 2023:

Two days to the expiration of the outdated banknotes, the Nigerian Bar Affiliation (NBA), urged the CBN to evaluation the coverage. Referencing the CBN Act, the NBA’s president, Yakubu Maikyau, stated Nigerians had been at liberty to method the central financial institution to ‘redeem’ their outdated banknotes after the preliminary 31 January deadline.

29 January 2023:

The CBN governor introduced a 10-day extension of the deadline for the deposit of outdated banknotes and the validity of the outdated notes. Mr Emefiele spoke in Daura, Katsina State, after a gathering with Mr Buhari. The apex financial institution had urged Nigerians to utilise the chance as a result of the deadline was not going to be prolonged.

31 January 2023:

The CBN governor, whereas showing earlier than an advert hoc committee of the Home of Representatives, stated banks should settle for the outdated naira notes even after the expiration of the ten February deadline.

1 February 2023:

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Celebration (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, requested the federal authorities to not prolong the ten February deadline for ending the outdated naira notes.

3 February 2023:

Three northern states – Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara- sued the federal authorities, looking for the Supreme Courtroom’s order halting the implementation of the naira redesign coverage.

6 February 2023:

A Federal Capital Territory Excessive Courtroom, Abuja, ordered the CBN to make sure the enforcement of the ten February deadline for the outdated forex notes. The 4 events of their ex parte request alleged that the CBN’s new financial coverage was being sabotaged by Nigerian banks.

8 February 2023: Nigeria’s Supreme Courtroom ordered the CBN to not finish using outdated naira notes on 10 February. The court docket made the order quickly, cancelling the CBN’s 10 February deadline to finish the validity of the outdated variations of the banknotes primarily based on an ex parte utility filed by three northern states – Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara – being managed by the All Progressives Congress (APC).

8 February 2023:

Nigeria’s 36 state governors below the platform of the Nigeria Governors’ Discussion board, appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to increase the timeframe for the implementation of the forex coverage. The governors made their stance recognized in a press release signed by Sokoto State Governor and chairperson of the NGF, Aminu Tambuwal.

12 February 2023:

The NGF accused the apex financial institution of conducting a ‘forex confiscation’ programme that has introduced immeasurable struggling to Nigerians. In a communique issued on the finish of their assembly in Abuja, the governors known as “for the halting of CBN’s plan to finish using the outdated forex notes.”

16 February 2023:

In flagrant disobedience of the Supreme Courtroom’s interim order, President Buhari insisted that the outdated notes ceased to be a authorized tender. However Mr Buhari acknowledged the pendency of the apex court docket’s ruling, and the hardship being confronted by Nigerians on account of the money crunch.

16 February 2023:

Hours later, the Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, ‘confronted’ the president over the naira redesign coverage. Countermanding Mr Buhari, Mr El-Rufai, in a broadcast, ordered residents of Kaduna State to proceed accepting the outdated naira notes as authorized tender.

19 February 2023

Atiku Abubakar made a U-turn admitting that the naira redesign coverage was hurting Nigerians. He known as on the CBN to permit business banks to gather deposits of the outdated N200, N500, and N1,000 notes.

22 February 2023:

A seven-member panel of the Supreme Courtroom led by John Okoro slated 3 March for judgement on the naira redesign coverage go well with.