Currency Redesign: Report says economy loses N20tn on CBN’s cash mop up; Emefiele, Malami slammed ultimatum to obey Supreme Court order on naira policy

Nigeria’s economy is reported grinding to a halt and has lost about N20tn following the over 70 per cent mop-up of cash by the Federal Government through the Central Bank of Nigeria, a new report by an economic think tank, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise said on Sunday.

It said the protracted acute cash scarcity had not only crippled economic activities across the country but was now a major risk to the livelihoods of most Nigerians.

Millions of citizens have slipped into penury and destitution as a result of the disruptions and tribulations perpetrated by the currency redesign policy, especially the mopping up of over 70 percent of cash in the economy according to the Director, CPPE, Dr. Muda Yusuf, while he reacted to the currency redesign policy.

Calling for an urgent intervention by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), he stressed that “Nigerians have not been this traumatised in recent history as the economy is gradually grinding to a halt because of the collapse of payment systems across all platforms. Digital platforms are performing sub-optimally because of congestion; physical cash is unavailable because the CBN has sucked away over 70 per cent of cash in the economy; and the expected relief from the Supreme Court judgement has not materialised.

Meanwhile, as cash remains scarce, state governments have issued an ultimatum to Godwin Emefiele, the Central Bank of Nigeria governor and the Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami to comply with the verdict of the supreme court on the controversial naira swap policy.

Recall in February, some state governments sued the federal government over the policy that led to a lingering cash crunch in the country.

After a series of court proceedings, the Supreme Court on Friday, March 3, 2023, ordered that the old N1,000, N500 and N200 notes should be in circulation alongside the new notes till December 31, 2023.

But since the court pronounced its judgment on the matter, Malami and Emefiele have kept mum over the verdict as traders and businesses continue to reject the old notes.

Old naira notes to be used till December but traders and businesses are rejecting them despite court order.

The state governments had served Malami with the enrolled order and Certified True Copy of the Supreme Court judgment ordering the use of the old notes till December. ‘

The state government’s counsel, Abdulhakeem Mustapha (SAN), said he expected immediate compliance with the order from the federal government following the court judgement.

He, however, threatened to file contempt charges against Emefiele and Malami on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, should they fail to obey the court order.

“The Attorney-General of the Federation has been served now and we will take it up from there; if there is no compliance now, we will commence committal proceedings against the attorney-general and the CBN governor.” Mustapha said.

Zamfara is one of the states that dragged the FG to court over the matter and while commenting on the issue, the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Junaidu Aminu said since the federal government has refused to implement the apex court judgement, the plaintiffs in the suit would again approach the court to ensure compliance.

“We have just served the Attorney General of the Federation with the Certified True Copy of the Enrolled Order of the Supreme Court last Friday. We are waiting for them to respect the court’s decision on the naira notes and comply with the decision. If they fail to comply on Monday, we are filing our case on Tuesday,’’ Aminu said.

He insisted that Emefiele must address Nigerians on the naira notes issue on or before Monday, March 14, 2023, adding that if he fails to do so, he and the federal government would be sued on contempt charges.