As a surprise, the Supreme Court has stopped the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from getting rid of the old Naira notes. This will make a lot of Nigerians happy. In a fight between David and Goliath, people who were upset with the central bank’s order to throw out the old notes after January 31 questioned whether it was legal.
The highest court made a historic decision today: it agreed with regular people and ordered things to stay the same until the case is over. For now, this means that both old and new money are still valid forms of payment. When the CBN made its sudden news last year, people all over the country were scrambling to exchange notes that were about to expire.
But the Supreme Court has put a hold on that date that was coming up quickly. A lot of people will be glad that they don’t have to rush to banks in the New Year. The financial regulator will probably be mad about this interference. For the time being, things are back to normal in Nigeria, where the lack of cash has led to another surprise relief.
