From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The Civil Society Central Coordinating Council has kicked against an ex parte order by the Supreme Court restraining the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from phasing out the old N200, N500 and N1000 notes on February 10.
The Coalition implored the Supreme Court to vacate the order, noting that anything that affects the February 10 deadline for the phase-out of the old Naira notes will be inimical to the credibility of the 2023 general election.
The Supreme Court had on Wednesday, in a ruling in a suit filed by Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states, retraining the Federal Government from phasing out the old Naira notes.
However, the national coordinator, Obed Okwukwe, who spoke, on behalf of the coalition, at a press briefing, c Wednesday, in Abuja, insisted that the new cash withdrawal limit introduced by the apex bank and the move to phase out the old Naira notes were in the best of the country.
The coalition, while urging the government to adjust the February 10 deadline slightly to February 15, within which the court order would have been vacated, charged the apex bank to address all challenges associated with getting the new Naira notes immediately.
“We have analysed the situations thoroughly bearing the interest of the people at heart and we have come to the conclusion that the people are the ultimate beneficiaries of these policies. We reject the moves by some politicians to capitalise on the temporary challenges of the implementation of the policies. These challenges are mostly stage managed to make it look like the policy is anti-people.
“We hereby call on the Central Bank leadership to continue and also double its efforts at resolving these hitches so that Nigerians will not be ripped off before they are able to access their money.
“The apex bank should also demand of all the CEOs and Managing Directors of all banks who received allocations of the new notes to bring documents to prove how all these monies were disbursed and in the units how they were disbursed. This call has become necessary with reports in the media showing that officials of banks have been arrested for hoarding the new notes while denying availability,” the coalition stated.