Governor of Kaduna state, Nasir el-Rufai has rejected the Federal Government’s decision to extend the deadline for only the old N200 notes to April 10.
In a nationwide broadcast on Thursday, President Muhammadu Buhari directed the Central Bank of Nigeria to let the old N200 notes remain legal tender till April 10, 2023.
He said all existing old N1000 and N500 notes remain redeemable at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and designated points.
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However, el-Rufai in a statement by Muyiwa Adekeye, his spokesperson, described the federal government’s proposal as “insincere”.
“These were not considered as serious proposals, for obvious reasons. Circulating the old N200 notes alone would not be sufficient to relieve widespread human suffering in Kaduna State, and indeed in Nigeria today.
“They knew that and that is why they falsely claimed that the CBN had already destroyed the old N500 and N1000 notes.
“This is contrary to the fact available to the governors to the effect that the old notes were in the custody of commercial bank branches throughout Nigeria until the evening of Monday, February 13, and not a single N500 or N1000 had been destroyed.
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“It is also a non-starter to insist on a new cut-off date without first assuring that sufficient new notes would have been printed and circulated. Information available to the governors also indicate that the Mint will need at least 12 months to print the minimum amount of N1 trillion needed to ensure a functioning trade and exchange environment in Nigeria.
“The tabling of false facts, inadequate solutions to the sufferings of our people, and the bad faith that some of the FG negotiators displayed in our phone conversations and chats have now been taken further in leaking a false account and context to a respected medium. The plaintiff governors rejected the draft proposal as insincere, and invested our hopes in the Supreme Court of Nigeria.