Nigeria’s top court ordered the central bank to halt its removal of old high-denomination banknotes from circulation, a move that’s created an acute cash shortage in Africa’s largest economy.
(Bloomberg) — Nigeria’s top court ordered the central bank to halt its removal of old high-denomination banknotes from circulation, a move that’s created an acute cash shortage in Africa’s largest economy.
The Supreme Court decided Friday that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s plan to discontinue the use of old bills by Feb. 10 was unconstitutional. The judges ruled that the notes should remain in circulation until the end of the year, Nasir El-Rufai, one of the state governors that brought the suit, told reporters afterwards.
The yield on Nigeria’s 2032 dollar bonds fell 16 basis points to 12.47% earlier Friday and the notes retained their gains after the ruling was announced.
The central bank’s project to replace 200, 500 and 1,000 naira notes that started on Dec. 15 has disrupted everyday life in Africa’s most populous nation, where only 60% of households have access to a bank account, because of a shortage of new bills.
Snaking queues are now a common sight outside ATMs and bank branches, while common tasks such as riding the bus or buying food have become an ordeal.
Private-sector activity last month contracted for the first time in almost three years as companies reduced output and cut jobs because of the scarcity.
Spokesmen for the central bank and attorney general did not respond to a request for comment on the judgment.
The central bank’s implementation of the measures “has come under significant scrutiny,” said Joseph Nnanna, chief economist at the Development Bank of Nigeria Plc. The court’s decision could open a “slippery slope which will erode the apex bank’s independence,” he said.
The lawsuit initially brought by the governments of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara – all controlled by the ruling All Progressives Congress — has been adjourned several times since it was filed a month ago, most recently on Feb. 22.
At least 10 other states, most of them also run by President Muhammadu Buhari’s party, have joined the suit or filed their own cases, pitching the governors against the outgoing head of state, who backed the policy.
In their initial suit, the three APC governors said their states were “on the verge of anarchy” due to the “untold financial, economic and social hardship” triggered by the central bank’s rushed program.
Buhari on Feb. 16 agreed to allow 200 naira bills to re-enter circulation for two extra months but resisted pressure to extend the deadline for the 500 and 1,000 naira notes beyond Feb. 10.
The governors said this concession was insufficient and censured the president for ignoring an injunction from the court barring the removal of the notes until the resolution of the case.
Buhari is due to step down in May and be replaced by the APC’s Bola Tinubu, who was declared the winner of Nigeria’s Feb. 25 presidential election. Tinubu’s backers argued before the vote that disruptions caused by the policy were damaging their electoral prospects. The results of the presidential race are being contested.
“This decision today has laid a solid foundation for our incoming president,” Yahaya Bello, the governor of Kogi state, said after the ruling. If necessary, the governors said they will return to court to seek an extension of the new Dec. 31 deadline.
–With assistance from Anthony Osae-Brown and Robert Brand.
(Updated with governors’ comments in second and twelfth paragraphs)
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