S’Court Order/Cash Crunch: Banks in Partial Compliance, Others Await CBN Directives

Many Deposit Money Banks are yet to comply with the Supreme Court order approving the use of old N1,000 and N500 and N200 notes as legal tender for 10 months.

While few banks have commenced partial payment in some states,  the cash crunch struggle bites harder as customers were seen on long queues in some branches of the Federal Capital Territory and environs.

The Supreme Court had, last week ordered that the old naira notes should be allowed in circulation along with the new notes until December 31, 2023.

The court had said the Federal Government’s naira redesign policy contravened the 1999 Constitution.

Economic Confidential findings today revealed that commercial banks had begun partial compliance with the order even though the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation have not officially replied.

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Visits by our correspondents to several bank branches in Bauchi, Lagos, Abuja and other major cities revealed that some banks had commenced compliance with the Supreme Court order while others are yet to.

Guarantee Trust bank and United Bank for Africa branches in Lagos and Abuja paid customers the old N1000 and N500 notes on Monday.

However, other commercial banks refused to paid their customers, saying they were awaiting CBN directive on the matter.

Although the CBN is yet to issue a directive to banks on the matter but some banks relied on the Supreme Court ruling to go ahead with paying their customers.

on condition of anonymity, A top official tier-1 bank says, “No clear official directive from CBN yet but our Branch here is Bauchi is yet to commence payment of old notes to customers”.

However, officials of FCMB, Polaris Bank, Access Bank among others also said they were still waiting for the CBN directive on the matter.

Meanwhile, all efforts to get the CBN to comment on the Supreme Court ruling failed as the acting Director of Corporate Communications Department, CBN, Dr Isa Abdulmumin, declined to comment.

At the GTBank in Olowoira, Lagos, several customers were seen on queues collecting the old N500 notes from the bank’s cashiers.

However, some bank customers have rejected the old notes over fears that traders might not accept them as legal tender as they are not sure traders will accept the old notes from them.

Also, a banker in Kano told our correspondent that they were yet to receive directives from its headquarters on the Supreme Court ruling.

He said, “We have not received directives on the Supreme Court ruling to pay out old notes”.

Since the Supreme Court gave its ruling on Friday, many Nigerians still awaits the directives from CBN to commence the approval payment of old notes in their respective banks.

The confusion in the economy had continued to mount despite calls from several quarters, urging the Federal Government to direct the CBN to comply with the court ruling.

With the delay in CBN directives, the cash crunch has continued to bite harder, putting many in distress.

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project had urged Buhari to immediately obey the Supreme Court, “to disclose the measures that your government is taking to direct the CBN to immediately re-circulate the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes, as ordered by the Supreme Court.”