Matawalle Reacts As CBN Orders Usage Of Old N500, N1000 Naira Notes

Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State has reacted to the directive of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the usage of old N500 and N1000 Naira Notes.

Naija News reported that the CBN, in a statement released on Monday by its spokesman, Isa Abdulmumin, stated that the old notes remain legal tender until December 31, 2023, in compliance with the Supreme Court order.

This statement comes hours after President Muhammadu Buhari said he did not order the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, or the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to disobey the apex court’s ruling.

Reacting in a statement on Tuesday by his spokesman, Zailani Bappa, Matawalle said the recent Supreme Court verdict on old currency notes and subsequent compliance by the apex bank is a victory for all Nigerians.

The governor said that the judgement of the apex court is for the good of the country’s micro-economy and for the well-being of the common man.

He also commended Buhari for distancing his administration from any attempt to disobey the ruling of the apex court on the old naira notes.

He said: “Those who accused us of going to Court for the sake of the presidential and National Assembly elections, even as Nigerians groan under the policy implementation, are now proven wrong as we did not relent until we succeeded in achieving our demand to its logical conclusion.

“All Nigerians can now heave a sigh of relief on this matter, and we expect more cash to be in circulation to ease our pains, while those who were unable to replace their old naira notes with the scarce new notes will no longer lose their hard-earned money.”