We Will Wait For The Supreme Court – Kogi Govt Reacts To Buhari’s New Directive On Old Naira Notes

The Kogi State government has declared that it believes the Supreme Court will give the final say on the new naira policy of the federal government.

The state government speaking through the Commissioner of Information, Kingsley Fanwo on Thursday said they are still reviewing the situation following the speech and fresh directive issued by President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to Fanwo, they have listened to the President but since the case is still before the Supreme Court, they won’t go beyond the boundaries.

He also expressed confidence that President Buhari will be guided by the rule of law on the matter and that all parties would comply with whatever be the final decision of the apex court on the matter.

Naija News recalls Buhari in an early morning broadcast on Thursday, approved the continuous usage of the old 200 naira notes as a legal tender until the 10th of April.

The president stated that the old 200 naira notes will be distributed back into circulation by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

He however added that the old N500 and ₦1,000 are no longer legal tenders.

“I have given approval to the CBN that the old N200 bank notes be released back into circulation and that it should also be allowed to circulate as legal tender with the new N200, N500, and N1000 banknotes for 60 days from Feb. 10, 2023 to April 10 2023,” Buhari said during the broadcast.

However, reacting to the latest directive amidst the cash crunch and scarcity of the naira, Fanwo during an interview on TVC said the Kogi State government would wait for the final decision of the Supreme Court on the matter.

It would be recalled the Kogi government led by Governor Yahaya Bello is one of the states that dragged the federal government before the Supreme Court over the February 10 deadline for the old naira notes.

The apex court has however adjourned the matter till February 22.

Speaking during the TV interview after Thursday’s declaration by President Buhari, the Kogi Commissioner said: “We all listened to what Mr President has said today. We are reviewing the situation. There are no clear lines of action right now. As we are also aware the case is before the Supreme Court and they will resume hearing February 22nd.

“We are very confident that the Supreme Court will go ahead with the case and whatever decision they arrived at, we are confident that we have a President that tows the line of constitutionalism and believes in the rule of law.”

He added; “We are not going to go beyond the case we instituted at the Supreme Court. The process is still on and it has been adjourned till February 22nd.

“On February 22nd, we hopefully that Supreme Court will either arrive at the decision of reserve a date for judgement eventually. So, we (Kogi State Government) are going to wait for the decision of the Supreme Court.”