The Naira redesign strategy, which has disrupted economic and commercial activity, the Lagos State Government claims, has caused hardship.
“There is no reason to reject the old notes, going by the Supreme Court judgement delivered on March 3, 2023,” Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu asserted in a statement on Monday.
The Supreme Court ruled that “no reasonable notice was given as required by Section 20(3) of the CBN Act,” adding that press reports were the primary source of information about the policy and could not be considered a notice to the public.
The directive that forbids the use of the old notes is illegal, unconstitutional, null, and void, the court argued, maintaining that the policy has interfered with state governments’ ability to carry out their duties.
According to the Supreme Court’s ruling that the old N500 and N1,000 notes remain lawful tender till December 31, 2023, Governor Sanwo-Olu urged business owners, particularly merchants, to accept them. To refuse the notes is against the law.
The governor also urged all government departments in Lagos State to accept payments made by the general public with old money.
Meanwhile, in a video posted on the official Twitter page of Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, he cautioned merchants, traders, bankers, petrol stations that refuse to collect the old naira notes.