Why we refused Buhari’s proposal of extension of naira deadline-El-Rufai

Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, on Wednesday disclosed that officials of the federal government reached out to him and some governors on ways to settle out of court over the new naira policy.

However, he rejected the offer put forth by the Muhammadu Buhari-led government.

He said the federal government proposed to allow the circulation of the old N200 notes until 10 April. In return, the governors were to withdraw the suits filed by their states in court.

Nasir El-Rufai, in a statement issued by his media aide, Muyiwa Adekeye, on Wednesday, said the report that the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) and the federal government held a meeting in the wee hours of Wednesday ahead of Wednesday’s Supreme Court hearing was false.

The governor said no such meeting happened but rather there was a conversation on the phone in which the officials offered a concession to allow old N200 notes to remain in circulation while the governors withdraw the case.

According to ElRufai, the federal government claimed that the old notes of the higher denominations of N500 and N1,000 are currently being destroyed by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

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“The terms they proposed were to allow only the old N200 note to remain legal tender and be circulated by the CBN till 10 April 2023,” he said.

He said the proposal was rebuffed because retaining the old notes will not address the economic challenges caused by the scarcity of naira notes.

Recalls that Mr El-Rufai’s Kaduna State, alongside Kogi State and Zamfara State filed a joint suit against the federal government at the Supreme Court on the currency policy.

The states, later joined by seven others, asked the Supreme Court to restrain the federal government from implementing the 10 February deadline for the use of the old notes. However, despite the interim order of the court, the central bank insisted on the deadline, thus sustaining the scarcity of cash as the new notes are insufficient.

After the Supreme Court’s sitting on Wednesday, the court adjourned till 22 February to decide on the policy.

Protests have been rocking several cities across the country with commercial banks being the target of attacks.