Commercial banks have begun paying old N500 and N1,000 notes to their customers following the supreme court verdict extending the deadline to December 31st 2023.
OduNews gathered that some banks in Kano and Abuja have started dispensing the old notes via the ATMs.
While some branches of Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB) issued out old notes, some others like Polaris bank in Abuja had not commenced as of the time this report was filed.
Sources at GTB said they received a directive from their management to begin paying old notes in their vault, “the problem is that taking the old note from customers will require the CBN form as we don’t have any directive in that regard.”
Nearly a month after majority of the old notes were mopped out of circulation, the challenge of cash squeeze persists, as new notes have remained elusive.
Following widespread condemnation of the policy and its accompanying pains on Nigerians, President Buhari addressed Nigerians on February 16, directing that the old N200 be returned into circulation to alleviate the hardship faced by citizens.
However, on Friday, a seven-member Supreme Court panel nullified the policy, faulting government’s handling of the process and declaring its methodology and implementation unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court ruled that though the President had authority to act as the federation’s executive, he was still required to give the federating units adequate notice before implementing the new monetary policy through CBN.
The court said that before the old naira notes were withdrawn, the states had not received reasonable notice as section 20(3) of the CBN Act required.
As a result, the Supreme Court ruled in its lead decision, read by Justice Emmanuel Agim, that Buhari’s authorisation for the CBN to withdraw the old banknotes was illegal.
