Buhari considers extending validity of old naira notes for an extra 60 days until April 30

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari is considering extending the validity of Nigeria's old naira notes by another 60 days allowing them to remain legal tender until April 30 in response to growing anger at the currency scarcity across the country.

On November 23 last year, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) launched redesigned ₦‎200, ₦‎500 and ₦‎1000 banknotes, saying the naira was long overdue to wear a new look. Nigerians had been given until January 31 to hand in all old notes, after which time they will cease to be legal tender but the process has been fraught with difficulties, prompting the National Assembly to ask the CBN to extend the deadline.

Across the country,  the last few weeks have been sheer hell for Nigerians as they have found it impossible to get hold of these new notes and this currency scarcity has created shortages in other areas, with petrol shortages now a chronic problem too. Under pressure from all angles, CBN chairman Godwin Emefiele announced a new deadline is now February 10.

However, this too proved inadequate, forcing three state governments to take the federal government to court over the matter. Last week, ruling in a case filed by the Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara state governments, Nigeria's Supreme Court ordered the CBN not to end the use of old naira notes on the February 10 deadline it had previously set.

Caught between a rock and a hard place, President Muhammadu Buhari in unsure about what to do and may now order for extension of the validity of old naira notes by 60 days. It is still unclear what the president plans to do and this morning, he met with the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in Abuja over the matter.

Although the agenda of the meeting was not made public, presidential sources hinted that it was not unconnected to the naira redesign policy of the federal government and the need to extend the deadline for the naira swap. One source that said that Asiwaju Tinubu had pleaded with the president to reconsider the naira redesign policy with regard to the deadline given by the nation’s apex court.

According to the source, President Buhari did not make any declarative statement at the meeting but promised to meet with CBN governor Godwin Emefiele on the matter. For now, the CBN has insisted that the deadline of February 10 would not be changed but a senior government official said President Buhari was worried about the hardship faced by Nigerians as well as the legal implications of disobeying the Supreme Court order.