By Musa Aliyu Nasidi
In a direct confrontation to president Muhammadu Buhari’s directive, Kaduna State Governor,Malam Nasir El-Rufai has called on residents of the state to accept the old N500 and N1000 notes as legal tender.
El-Rufai gave the directive in a live broadcast to state residents Thursday night.
The Governor described the naira redesign policy as a weapon by members of the ruling party and close allies of President Buhari bent on preventing ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) presidential candidate Bola Tinubu from , will win the Elections of February 25.
Describing the policy as “nonsense,” El-Rufai said it has caused untold hardship for ordinary people in the state, who he said are victims of the policy.
“The sad reality is that the victims of these senseless policies are the people who elected us. It is your well-being that is being threatened. Many of our people have been left in a situation where the money they deposited in the banks has been literally confiscated, depriving them of the ability to buy food and basic necessities. Our merchants can’t sell as much as before because their customers don’t have access to their hard-earned money,” he said.
He said President Buhari was misled by the Central Bank leadership into accepting the narrative that the policy was meant to rein in politicians who amassed a lot of money to buy votes during elections.
The governor also said the policy was orchestrated by some members of the ruling party who lost in the party’s presidential primaries and are now desperate to thwart the party and its candidates.
“It is important for the people of Kaduna State, and Nigeria, to know that contrary to public pronouncements and apparent good intentions, this policy was conceived and sold to the President by officials who lost outright in the presidential and gubernatorial primaries. of the APC in June 2022.
“Once Asiwaju Bola Tinubu emerged as a candidate in June 2022, subsequently failing to choose one of them as his running mate, this currency redesign policy was conceived to ensure that the APC presidential candidate is deprived of what they allege is a huge war chest. ,” he said.
El-Rufai therefore ordered the residents of the state to continue accepting the N500 and N1000 notes as legal tender.
“For the avoidance of doubt, all old and new banknotes will remain in use as legal tender in Kaduna State until the Supreme Court of Nigeria decides otherwise,” it said.
“Therefore, I call on all residents of Kaduna State to continue to use the old and new banknotes side by side without any fear. The Kaduna State government and its agencies will seal off any establishment that refuses to accept the old banknotes as legal tender and prosecute the owners. If necessary, we will take other consequential measures in accordance with the law.”
He assured the residents of the state that they would not waste their money on the old naira notes.
“On behalf of the Kaduna State Government, I want to assure you that none of you would lose the money you have in old notes. Don’t let any artificial and illegal deadlines scare you away. Whether you live in towns, villages, or in our isolated rural communities, don’t sit in a rush to deposit your old bills in banks. Hold on to them. Please continue to use them as legal tender as ordered by the Supreme Court of Nigeria. No deadline can render them worthless, ever. The law is on your side. The Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007 and the Bills of Exchange Act require the CBN to recognize your old notes and give you value in new notes whenever you bring them to the CBN, even in the next 100 years.
“Therefore, as your Governor, I want to assure you that the Kaduna State Government, in collaboration with elected legislators, traditional institutions, elected local government councils, markets and trade associations, will assist you in collecting, recording, documenting, collating and deliver all his old notes to the Kaduna branch of the Central Bank on his behalf on the new ones immediately after the election. We will also ensure the delivery of your new tickets to your various locations without any difficulty or expense on your part. We will save them the panic and stress of a long drive from his community to the CBN office in our state capital, from March to December 2023 if necessary,” he said.
The governor’s directive is a direct affront to President Buhari’s directive on Thursday morning limiting the legal tender of the naira to include N200 notes.
Buhari’s directive was in clear violation of the Nigerian Supreme Court order that the former N200, N500 and N1,000 notes should remain legal tender until a lawsuit brought by El-Rufai is settled. and some state governors. .
