Buhari made a notable decision to reverse the previous action by reintroducing denominations of N500 and N1,000 bills to the currency system.
This significant move could potentially have a wide-ranging impact on the circulation and usage of these specific monetary units in the economy,
indicating a shift in the nation’s financial landscape under his leadership.
A minister and the head of the president are thwarted
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Buhari Changed His Mind When He Reintroduced N500, N1,000 . Bills
New data yesterday showed that a minister and a senior government official revised President Muhammadu Buhari’s plan to allow the recirculation of old N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes until the end of the year.
April 10. It also emerged that the state governors would accept this decision. despite the fact that they wanted a minimum period of one year to replace the redesigned bills with new ones.
The governors have stated in discussions with several government officials that their undercover investigations have confirmed that it could take more than nine months for Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Plc to print a new bill of value. 1 trillion naira.
Findings from The Nation revealed that prior to the broadcast to Nigerians on Thursday, the President received security reports of great frustration with the Naira overhaul policy.
Among other intelligences, the president learned that the policy was “harming” the poor. According to a senior source,
the President presented three options for consultation before addressing the Nigerian people. The options are:
Complete review of Naira Recast’s policy
Recirculating old banknotes N200, N500 and N1,000 from February 10 to April 10
Allow the court to have the final say on the Naira overhaul
Peaceful settlement to save the economy from any shock
“After isolating alternatives to stem chaos, the President conducted a series of consultations with state governors, allies, strategists and thought polls,” the top source said. by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele.
“The President is deeply concerned that the poor are the most affected by the naira shortage. Based on the assurance he got from Emefiele, he had hoped that the policy would be enforced with slight bias.
“Buhari noted the points raised by those requesting reconsideration. What worries him most are reports that poor Nigerians who are earning money legally are struggling to get new bills and are therefore unable to feed themselves and their families.
“Buhari has essentially decided to allow the reintroduction of three denominations and for the old and new bills to be legal tender until April 10. Several aides to the president are awaiting orders to announce the decision.
but the intervention of a minister and a presidential official caused the president to change his mind, followed by the president’s broadcast on Thursday morning.
The source offered some insight into how the two government officials “influenced” the president’s last-minute decision.
“Two officials insisted to the President that allowing the N500 and N1000 to be legally tender until April 10 would go against his resolution not to allow those who hide billions of old bills for elections. to corrupt voters.
“They convinced the President that Nigerians would accept this when he spoke to them, demonstrating understanding and acceptance of the policy.
The defeat for the president and two officials was a concern among governors that simply recirculating old N200 notes would not end the scarcity of the national currency.
“The February 8 Supreme Court order was reaffirmed on February 15 that the old notes remain in effect until the Kaduna,
Zamfara and Kogi government lawsuits and counter petitions submitted by the federal government were also ignored heard and identified.
In response to a question, the source said: “Both officials were part of a group against APC presidential candidate Asiwaju Bola Tinubu because their ambitions did not come true.
“One of them wants to be governor, and the other is running for president. Buhari believes their advice is selfless, unaware they have ulterior motives.
Another trusted source, who was knowledgeable, explained the conspiracies surrounding the Naira overhaul and the state governors’
efforts to help Buhari reach a popular decision. The source admitted that the governor wants at least a year to replace the revised notes with new ones.
“After days of negotiations with the governors, Buhari wanted a quick solution to the Naira crisis.
The option to recycle the N200 bills offered by CBN was flatly denied by the governor. Their argument is that there won’t be enough denominations for recycling,” the source said.
“They asked me to provide the number of new bills printed on CBN and the number of old N200 bills to be redistributed to ensure that they reach nearly N2 trillion or more. But Apex Bank, with the numbers, never happened.
“As such, the governor does not believe that this option will alleviate the difficulties caused by the scarcity of new tickets.
“Therefore, the governors insisted that all old bills be redistributed within at least one year.
“Their position is based on the Governor’s ‘reliable and verifiable information’ that it will take about 9 months for the Mint to print new trillion naira notes, assuming the Mint does nothing else during this time period.”
