The Federal Government has said N500 and N1000 notes that were mopped up by the Central Bank of Nigeria during its controversial naira redesigning policy have been destroyed which would make a reversal of the exercise impossible.
This much was disclosed by the Kaduna State Government which claimed it was part of the proposal the federal government tabled before the state governors who have dragged President Muhammadu Buhari before the Supreme Court over the controversial cash swap policy.
The Governor Nasir El-Rufai-led government claimed the proposal from officials of the Federal Government to state governors was that the CBN would allow the old N200 notes to still be in circulation until April 10 but the two other denominations had since been destroyed by the apex bank and no way to bring them back into the system.
El-Rufai said the proposal was rejected by the state governments who have now resolved to continue with the litigation at the Supreme Court.
He accused the federal government of insincerity asking why t should inflict untold hardship on Nigerians.
In a statement, the Kaduna State government said, “These were not considered as serious proposals, for obvious reasons. Circulating the old N200 notes alone would not be sufficient to relieve widespread human suffering in Kaduna State, and indeed in Nigeria today. They knew that and that is why they falsely claimed that the CBN had already destroyed the old N500 and N1000 notes. This is contrary to the fact available to the governors to the effect that the old notes were in the custody of commercial bank branches throughout Nigeria until the evening of Monday, February 13, and not a single N500 or N1000 had been destroyed.
It is also a non-starter to insist on a new cut-off date without first assuring that sufficient new notes would have been printed and circulated. The information available to the governors also indicates that the Mint will need at least 12 months to print the minimum amount of N1 trillion needed to ensure a functioning trade and exchange environment in Nigeria.”
Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara governments dragged the federal government before the apex court demanding that the cash policy be reversed.
