Old Notes: Business operators happy with CBN’s compliance with Court judgment

By Joy Odigie

Traders in Benin have expressed happiness over CBN’s compliance with the Supreme Court judgment that the old N500 and N1,000 notes remain legal tender till Dec. 31.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Supreme Court, on March 3, in a unanimous decision by a seven-member panel of Justices, held that the old N500 and N1000 should remain  legal tender till Dec. 31.

However, the CBN didn’t issue a directive to banks to the effect until Monday, 10 days after the Supreme Court judgement.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) checks at different banks, markets, motor parks, supermarkets and pharmacies, observed that the old N500 and N1,000 were being accepted by traders and businessmen as legal tender.

However, there were long queues at the commercial banks.

Speaking on the development, Dr Okwara Udensi, Edo/Delta Chairman, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, told NAN that CBN’s compliance to the court ruling was a welcome development for business men.

Udensi said “It is a good thing because it is going to ease a lot of the cash problems as everyone would begin to heave a sigh of relief.

“The issue of using cash to buy cash will be a thing of the past as my worker had to spend N22,500 to collect N150,000 few weeks ago.

“This is good, let us pray that the cash will start circulating around and things will bounce back to normal by end of the month.”

Also reacting, Mr Noma Iguisi, Edo Chairman, National Association of Small Scale Industialists said, ‘”the CBN has listened to us and this will impact positively in our businesses.”

Iguisi, however, suggested that the CBN should print enough quantity of the redesigned Naira notes before phasing out the old ones.

According to him, the time frame should be such that it will be enough to print more of the redesign Naira notes before they can recall the old notes.

“The deficit was too much, you are removing about N2 trillion old notes from circulation and replacing with about N400 billion.”

Miss Miracle Edosa, a trader at Ikpoba Hill Market, told NAN that she had started accepting the old N500 and N1,000 notes for business transactions.

Edosa said, “traders around me are collecting and I am collecting too.

“I learnt that some people are not accepting the old money. My prayer is that everyone accepts the money as legal tender to make things easy in the country.

(NAN)