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Nigeria’s apex court stops apex bank, CBN, from implementing deadline for old Naira notes

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Nigeria’s apex court, the Supreme Court has ordered a suspension of the deadline for the swapping of old to new Naira notes by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The Court ruled on Wednesday morning and issued an interim injunction restraining the Federal Government from suspending the acceptance of the old Naira notes on Friday, February 10, 2023, deadline.

Recall that on Monday, a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory issued a restraining order on President Muhammadu Buhari, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, and 27 commercial banks from suspending the demonetisation policy of the federal government.

The latest ruling by the apex court nullifies the High court’s ruling issued on Monday after Kaduna, Zamfara, and Kogi State dragged the Federal Government to the Supreme Court over the scarcity of old and new Naira notes due to the (CBN) naira redesign policy.

Nigeria has been on a recent trend of monetary policy in a bid to rescue its struggling economy. Nigeria’s apex bank recently announced plans to introduce new designs of the N200, N500, and N1,000 notes this month.

The three states through their lawyer, AbdulHakeem Uthman Mustapha (SAN), urged the Supreme Court to grant them an interim injunction stopping the Federal Government either by itself or acting through the CBN, the commercial banks, or its agents from carrying out its plan of ending the timeframe within which the now older versions of the 200, 500 and 1000 denominations of the Naira may no longer be legal tender on February 10, 2023.

Mustapha argued that “unless this Honourable Court intervenes, the Government and people of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara State will continue to go through a lot of hardship and would ultimately suffer great loss as a result of the insufficient and unreasonable time within which the Federal Government is embarking on the ongoing currency redesign policy.”

The case has been adjourned to Wednesday, February 15, 2023. The states are seeking a restraining order from the Supreme Court to compel the government and CBN from implementing the policy.

There have been calls and protests in some quarters for the extension of the deadline for the use of the old bank notes, including allegations by the ruling party presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu that the policy was targeted at him and aimed at sabotaging his election.

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World Bank consortium to give Egypt $6 billion over a 3-year period

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The World Bank Group on Monday announced that it planned to give Egypt, which has been suffering from a foreign exchange crisis that has delayed economic activity and resulted in shortages of imported commodities, more than $6 billion in support over the next three years.

According to the World Bank Group, $3 billion will fund public initiatives and $3 billion will go to the private sector, all pending board approval.

The aid package follows a $35 billion agreement with the Emirati sovereign wealth fund ADQ in late February, which led Egypt to weaken its currency earlier in March to reduce historically high inflation.

In March, it also managed to negotiate an enhanced $8 billion agreement with the International Monetary Fund. On Sunday, the European Union announced a finance package worth $8.1 billion for Egypt.

“In support of the government’s development priorities, programs will focus on increasing opportunities for private sector participation in the economy, including through the government’s Asset Monetization Program,” the World Bank Group said in its statement.

Egypt is aiming to earn $10 billion in four years through private investment in public assets by 2022. The country is selling assets to support the private sector and raise hard currency.

With $6 billion from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, $1.9 billion from the International Finance Corporation, and $0.5 billion from the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, the World Bank Group said that its current operational portfolio in Egypt exceeds $8 billion.

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Nigeria targets fresh $1 billion loan from World Bank 

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In order to address the issues facing internally displaced persons and their host communities, as well as to support rural access and agricultural marketing in the nation, the Nigerian government is currently engaged in negotiations with the World Bank. These negotiations are part of the country’s efforts to secure over $1 billion in loans.

 

The request is contained in World Bank documents titled, ‘Solutions for the Internally Displaced and Host Communities Project’ and ‘Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project – Scale Up.’

 

There have been reports that some of the World Bank loans currently in consideration were started during President Muhammadu Buhari’s prior administration.

 

There is a $500 million estimate for the IDP loan, and a $550 million estimate for the loan for the rural access and agricultural marketing project.

 

The document from the World Bank revealed that “The proposed project will utilise a three-pronged approach to develop sustainable solutions for IDPs and host communities in Northern Nigeria. First, the proposed project aims to provide tailored solutions for each of the targeted states and communities, recognizing that each internal displacement situation is specific and localised, with conflict, violence and/or climate challenges presenting a different level and set of vulnerabilities for host communities.

 

“Gender, age, and special needs of individuals also play a role, as well as the length of displacement, number of times displaced and other factors. Thus, responses will be adapted to address the specific needs of vulnerable populations within displacement-affected states and communities. Second, the proposed project will follow a “People-in-Place” approach, integrating the needs of the people and the impacts on the place where they settle.

 

“Project activities will aim to improve the provision of infrastructure and basic services as well as livelihood opportunities in an integrated way, moving beyond capital investments to supporting operational improvements and sectoral reforms, and fostering income-generating opportunities within host communities.”

 

 

With an estimated appraisal date of February 11, 2025, and an approval date of April 8, 2025, the Solutions for the Internally Displaced and Host Communities Project is a focused attempt to enhance the lives of millions of people impacted by internal displacement as a result of conflict, violence, and climate challenges.

 

The National Commission for Refugee Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons and the North East Development Commission are the implementing agencies, according to the Washington-based lender, which also stated that the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning would serve as the borrower for Nigeria.

 

According to the Global Data Institute in a its last Displacement Tracking Metrix, a total of 2,375,661 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) were identified in 483,467 households in 2023, representing a decrease of 3 per cent (or 79,529 individuals) compared to Round 42 when 2,455,190 IDPs were recorded (July 2022).

 

Nigeria’s debt profile continues to raise despite its revenue generation challenges. Punch revealed last month that new borrowing approvals for the Federal Government and the securitization of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s N7.3tn Ways and Means advances could soon bring Nigeria’s total debt (federal government and state loans) to at least N107.38tn.

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