‘Bring Your Old Notes, I Will Help You Deliver Them To CBN’ – El-Rufai Tells Kaduna People

The Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has asked residents of the state to gather up their old N1000, N500 and N200 Naira notes, and he will, in collaboration with other major stakeholders, deliver them to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for exchange with the new notes.

Naija News reports that the All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain stated this on Thursday night during his statewide broadcast.

El-Rufai, during the broadcast, directed residents of the State to continue using the old Naira notes as against President Muhammadu Buhari‘s directive earlier on Thursday morning.

Recall that President Buhari said while addressing Nigerians earlier that the ₦1,000 and ₦5,000 old Naira notes are no longer legal tenders. The Nigerian leader said only N200 old notes would be acceptable until April 10, when it would seize to be acceptable for transactions.

However, in his broadcast to the people of Kaduna State on Thursday night, El-Rufai asked the people not to panic but stand up strongly for democracy, peace and national unity.

He assured them that plans are in place with traditional institutions, traders’ associations and legislators to collate data and the old notes from residents and get them delivered to the CBN, while the new notes would be given to them after the 2023 general elections.

He said: “As your governor, I wish to assure you that the Kaduna State Government, in collaboration with elected legislators, traditional institutions, elected local government councils, markets, and traders associations, will help you collect, record, document, collate and deliver all your old notes to the Kaduna branch of the Central Bank on your behalf into the new ones immediately after the elections. We will also ensure the delivery of your new notes to your various locations without any hardship or expense on your part. We shall save you any panic and the stress of a long journey from your community to the CBN office in our state capital, from March until December 2023 if need be.

“For the avoidance of doubt, all the old and new notes shall remain in use as legal tender in Kaduna State until the Supreme Court of Nigeria decides otherwise. I therefore appeal to all residents of Kaduna State to continue to use the old and new notes side by side without any fear. The Kaduna State Government and its agencies shall seal any facility that refuses to accept the old notes as legal tender and prosecute the owners. If need be, we shall take further consequential actions according to the law.”

El-Rufai urged the state’s people not to fall for the antics of those he referred to as the enemies of Nigeria who are at the helm of power in Aso Rock.

He charged them to be patient and continue to exercise resilience in the face of open provocation and deliberate disinformation.

“We encourage you to be ready with your PVC to vote in the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections. We are doing all we can to ensure that it is peaceful, orderly and hitch-free. I appeal to you to understand the shenanigans of these unpatriotic elements in Abuja and ensure you vote massively for the intended victims of these last-minute policies of needless hardship and incitement of the citizens – our party, the APC and its candidates in all the elections,” he said.