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Nigerians stranded, Cenbank adamant, as apex court postpones hearing on old Naira deadline

Published

2 years ago

February 15, 2023

Nigeria’s apex court has adjourned hearing in a suit filed by Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states against the federal government over set deadline for the use of old Naira notes.

The three states are seeking a restraining order to stop the full implementation of the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) until Feb. 22.

Meanwhile, nine other states have requested to be joined as parties in the suit challenging the propriety of the naira swap policy of the Federal Government.

As a result, the nine-member panel of the Supreme Court, led by Justice John Okoro, joined the Attorneys General of Katsina, Lagos, Ondo, Ogun, Ekiti, Cross River and Sokoto States as co-plaintiffs, while the Attorneys General of Edo and Bayelsa states were joined as co-respondents.

The court ordered the original plaintiffs and the respondent – the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) – to amend the processes already filed to reflect the new parties.

The apex court last Wednesday nullified the High court’s ruling (a lower court) issued two days earlier which stopped the Federal government of Nigeria from extending deadline for the use of the old ₦200, ₦500 and ₦1,000 notes.

Despite the Supreme court’s position, the CBN has maintained that the old currency has seized to be legal tender with commercial money banks already refusing the notes as deposits. Some Nigerians have been left stranded as the new notes remain scarce while the few old ones available are beginning to be refused.

It has been said in some quarters that the redesigning the country’s currency and the limited supply of the new note is a deliberate plot by the outgoing president, Muhhamadu Buhari, who has vowed to deliver a free and fair election to frustrate “vote buying” which has been characteristic of recent elections in Nigeria.

Related Topics:CBN Featured Naira Naira redesign Nigeria

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IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

1 day ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following the completion of a recent visit to Egypt, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its mission had achieved significant strides in policy talks aimed at concluding the fourth review of the IMF loan program.

The review is the fourth in Egypt’s most recent 46-month IMF loan program, which was authorised in 2022 and increased to $8 billion this year following an economic crisis characterised by high inflation and chronic foreign exchange shortages. It may unleash more than $1.2 billion in financing.

Along with reaffirming its commitment to maintain a flexible exchange rate system, the IMF stated that Egypt “has implemented key reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability,” including the unification of the currency rate that facilitated imports.

Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Cairo has asked the IMF to modify the targets for the programme not only for this year, but for its full duration, he added without giving more details.

“Discussions will continue over the coming days to finalize agreement on the remaining policies and reforms that could support the completion of the fourth review,” the IMF added in its statement.

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Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

3 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.