Weary Nigerians look to Supreme Court on naira redesign

Weary Nigerians who have been denied access to cash following the redesign of high-value naira notes are hopeful that the Supreme Court judgement, expected today, will bring reprieve.

The Supreme Court had last week fixed March 3 for judgment on the suits filed by some state governments challenging the federal government’s naira redesign policy.

BusinessDay spoke with some traders at Mile 12 Market who say they want the cashless policy reversed as it has only brought suffering to Nigerians and businesses.

“I want the policy to be reversed as you cannot easily find cash anywhere. I was at the bank yesterday and after queuing for three hours, it was N3,000 we were paid over the counter. You can see how frustrating the policy has been,” said Aisha Bakare, a food provision trader at Mile 12 Market, Lagos.

Bolaji Olagoke, a meat seller at the market, called for the reversal of the policy if the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) cannot supply the economy with the new naira notes.

“We were told that it was to reduce vote buying. Now elections are over and there is still no cash. This just showed that the CBN cannot provide the new notes; so they should just reverse the policy and allow Nigerians to go on with their businesses,” he said.

He said his sales have dropped by over 15 percent since the policy was introduced, saying the policy has only brought more hardship for Nigerians who were already struggling to survive.

Muda Yusuf, chief executive officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, said the Supreme Court should demonstrate sufficient courage to indict agencies of government and the banking institutions for failure to comply with its restraining order.

Read also: How e-Naira can support cashless policy, curb corruption, boost revenue generation

“This is important only for record purposes. It is a bad precedent for the orders of the Supreme Court to be intentionally disobeyed. There should be consequences, no matter how minimal,” he said.

BusinessDay spoke with a lawyer on the possible outcome of the Supreme Court’s hearing on March 3.

“I believe that the Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday will tilt to the side of the masses. The court will want to ensure that there is sufficient cash in the economy for the masses,” Idowu Omolegan, a barrister and public affairs commentator, said.

Kabiru Fara, national president of Agro Inputs Dealers Association, said the naira swap policy was badly affecting the agricultural sector as most of the rural farmers did not have bank accounts.

“Zamfara – a top agricultural producing state – only has banks in two local governments; then how do you drive a cashless policy in such a place?” he asked, saying, “I hope the policy is looked into and reversed, if possible.”

Taiwo Oyedele, head of tax and corporate advisory services at PwC Nigeria, said: “I believe there will be less pressure on the Supreme Court now that the presidential elections have been concluded. Whichever way the decision goes, chances are that all interested parties and the general public will be dispassionate about the issue and accept the outcome without reading much political connotations to it.”