A video obtained by SaharaReporters shows an agent of Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun distributing old Naira notes to residents of the state as an inducement ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The governor’s agent distributed the old notes in envelopes emblazoned with the governor’s picture to residents, persuading them to vote for his re-election.
o”These notes remain legal tender; the governor is coming (for enforcement if banks reject them),” the agent told the women who claimed the notes would be rejected by banks.
Mr Abiodun, like his counterparts in Lagos and Kaduna, and some other state governors, has vehemently opposed the presidency’s and the CBN’s directive on the validity of old naira notes.
The governors have insisted that the old notes continue to be legal tender until the Supreme Court rules on the issue.
Over the weekend, ten governors who oppose the president’s directive petitioned the Supreme Court, asking for a declaration that President Muhammadu Buhari and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s insistence on withdrawing the N1000 and N500 notes from circulation violates a previous court ruling ordering all parties to maintain the status quo.
Political analysts are divided in their assessments of the situation. While some see the latest suit against President Muhammadu Buhari’s government and the CBN as a test of democracy, others see it as pure political self-interest, accusing Governor Abiodun and his colleagues of seeking a free reign of political lawlessness and electoral malpractice during the elections.
The APC governors challenging the Buhari government have been accused of opposing the CBN policy to spend the money they had hoarded to influence the election.
Last year, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced that it would redesign N200, N500 and N1000 banknotes, saying old notes should be swapped for new ones by January 31.
Following several appeals made by Nigerians, the deadline was moved to February 10. However, a Supreme Court ruling suspended the February 10 deadline.
A week after the Supreme Court ordered the Nigerian government to allow the continued use of old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes, President Muhammadu Buhari countered that order.
In his national broadcast last Thursday, Buhari announced that the old N500 and N1000 notes had ceased to be legal tender but extended the deadline for N200 notes to April 10.