[UPDATED] Allow Old, New Naira Notes Coexist – APC Govs To Buhari

Governors under the All Progressives Congress have asked President Muhammadu Buhari to allow the old and new naira notes to coexist, OduNews reports.

Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna state, said the request was made to the president when the APC governors met with him on Friday.

The Kaduna governor said the president did not decline or approve the request.

OduNews had earlier reported that the APC Governors had a closed-door meeting with president Muhammadu Buhari on Friday.

Governors present in the meeting are that of Ebonyi, Ogun, Imo, Zamfara, Kebbi, Yobe, Lagos, Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, and Niger.

El-Rufai who spoke to some journalists in Hausa language on Friday, said that while the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) mopped up over N2 trillion of the old notes, it printed only N300 billion, which, according to him, is not enough.

El-Rufai, accompanied by his Kano State counterpart, Abdullahi Ganduje, explained that even if the CBN had wanted to implement the cashless policy, it should have printed a half of what it mopped up, for a start, which ought to be N1 trillion.

He said they told the President that the masses are suffering and traders are losing their goods due to lack of patronage. He particularly cited the tomatoes seller that traveled to Lagos with their goods, but all got wasted because people had no money available to buy.

As a consequence, they appealed to President Buhari to reconsider his position on the new policy.

Curiously, El-Rufai revealed that Buhari did not give them a yes or no answer.

He disclosed that the Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), Atiku Bagudu, has gone back to meet the President privately with the hope to convince him.