It is against the law to reject old naira notes, Lagos State warns

The Lagos State Government has warned against the rejection of the old naira notes, promising to prosecute those that violate the directive.

This disclosure is contained in a series of tweet posts on Wednesday by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on New Media, Jubril Gawat, on his official Twitter account, where he said the state government acknowledges the patience and calmness of Lagosians on the controversial naira shortage crisis.

Gawat said that Governor Sanwo-Olu, who is confident that the judiciary will resolve all the issues around the naira shortage crisis, urged Lagosians to remain law-abiding and shun mischief makers who may want to exploit the situation to promote anti-people agenda.

Gawat in the statement said, ‘’The Lagos State Government wishes to put on record the patience and calmness of Lagosians following the controversy generated by the Naira shortage crisis.

‘’The State Government has joined the dispute at the Supreme Court, which today adjourned the hearing of the matter till February 22. When the matter first came up on February 8, the apex court said the old notes remained legal tender.

‘’That position has not changed. The State Government hereby warns those rejecting the old notes to desist from doing so or face prosecution. It is against the law to reject the old notes as doing so is contrary to the position of the Supreme Court.

‘’Governor Sanwo-Olu urges Lagosians to remain law-abiding and shun mischief makers who may exploit this temporary situation to promote their anti-people agenda. He is confident that the Judiciary will resolve all the issues around the currency shortage crisis.

‘’To cushion the effect of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directive on the old notes, especially on the vulnerable among us, Lagos State has started the distribution of the food packs promised by the Governor.

‘’The 50% fares slash on all State transportation facilities continues, as directed by Mr. Governor.’’

On Wednesday, February 8, 2023, the Supreme Court in ruling by a 7-member panel led by Justice John Okoro, temporarily halted the CBN’s February 10 deadline for the exchange of the new naira notes with the newly redesigned naira notes, adjourning the case to February 15, 2023.

However, today, the apex court adjourned a hearing in the suit banning the use of the old naira to Wednesday, 22nd February 2023.

This is coming after nine joined the suit initially filed by Kogi, Kaduna and Zamfara states.

The states are Katsina, Lagos, Cross River, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo, and Sokoto states bringing the new total of plaintiffs to ten. On the other hand, Edo and Bayelsa have filed to be joined as respondents.

In a related development, some state governments like Kano, Zamfara,  Borno, Ogun, and others have warned businesses and banks in the state to stop rejection of old naira notes from citizens or they will be shut down.

The Kano State Government a few days ago shut down a popular supermarket in the state for rejecting old naira notes from customers.