The Federal Government on Tuesday said “unscrupulous” opposition politicians have “legally hamstrung” President Muhammadu Buhari from providing any relief to Nigerians on the scarcity of N200, N500 and N1,000 bank notes.
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed stated this at the 23rd Edition of the President Muhammadu Buhari Administration Scorecard in Abuja. He said the opposition parties have turned the scarcity of new naira notes to a political game, “preferring to make Nigerians suffer more on the altar of unconscionable political gamesmanship”.
The pandemonium over the February 10 deadline for the validity of three old naira notes assumed another dimension on Monday as five political parties and three state governments begun legal battles. Whilst the Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara governments dragged the Federal government before the Supreme Court, seeking an extension to the February 10 deadline, five political parties took the matter to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court and secured an order barring the Federal Government and the apex bank from any extension of the deadline.
The CBN on October 26, 2022, announced its plan to redesign the three banknotes. The President subsequently unveiled the redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 notes on November 23, 2022, while the apex bank fixed a January 31 deadline for the validity of the old notes.
