President Muhammadu Buhari is considering extending the validity of old naira notes by 60 days, TheCable understands. This is to avoid disobeying the order of the Supreme Court of Nigeria which ruled that the old N1,000, N500 and N200 notes remain valid until it delivers judgment in the case filed by some states against the federal government. The CBN had insisted that the deadline of February 10 would not be changed but a senior government official told TheCable that Buhari was worried about the hardship faced by Nigerians as well as the legal implications of disobeying the order of the constitutional court. The official told TheCable that this was the focus of a meeting between presidency officials and the leadership of Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) as well as the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF) until the early hours of Wednesday. The governors were then expected to withdraw their case at the apex court. “The resolution was to give room for President Buhari to make concession on the monetary policy and make the following announcements public,” the official said. “One, that the old naira notes of N200 be allowed free movement in and out of the banks for the next 60 days. “Two, that all three notes will be legal tender during this period, but that any old N500 or N1,000 that goes into a bank will not be sent back into circulation.” The official said that while others were “on the same page with the president”, Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna state, insisted on total cancellation of the policy. Buhari, who had earlier delayed attending the federal executive council (FEC) meeting by 40 minutes to monitor the development at the Supreme Court, was disappointed that the governors reneged on their promise to withdraw the case. He had, after the meeting on Wednesday, met with Godwin Emefiele, the CBN governor, and Modibbo Tukur, the director of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), on the need to allow all old notes circulate in the system to ease hardship on ordinary Nigerians. “The president will not disobey the court. But he is also concerned about the suffering of Nigerians and wants the to find lasting solution to it,” the official further explained to TheCable. “It is clear that some militancy is being propagated against the people by the elite who have the means to secure the new notes no matter what while the people continue to suffer. “The president will continue to engage and see the way out of the logjam.” Editor’s note: A slight correction has been done to the story to reflect that only old N200 notes will be allowed to go in and out of the banking system till April 10. Old N1,000 and N500 notes will not be dispensed by banks under the imminent concession.

  Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has warned those rejecting old naira notes to desist or face prosecution.   He said the rejection of old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes is contrary to the position of the Supreme Court. The governor made this known in a statement signed by the Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso on Wednesday. Sanwo-Olu’s warning comes after the Supreme Court adjourned the case on the naira swap policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) till February 22 for hearing of the consolidated suits by 10 states. The statement read in part, “When the matter first came up on February 8, the apex court said the old notes remained legal tender. “That position has not changed. The State Government hereby warns those rejecting the old notes to desist from doing so or face prosecution. It is against the law to reject the old notes as doing so is contrary to the position of the Supreme Court.”

  The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Niger State, Isah Liman Kantigi, has issued a death threat to prospective voters who have the intention to collect his money without voting for him in the general election. Kantigi made the threat while addressing his supporters in a viral video. Kantigi was a former Chairman of Edati Local Government Area and the ex-Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs to former Governor, Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu. The PDP candidate was recently in the news after he donated two electricity transformers to Dangana and Duma communities in Lapai. In November, his growing popularity in Niger State was tested after his candidacy was challenged by an aggrieved party member, Sani Idris Kutigi. He was, however, affirmed by a Federal High Court, Abuja, on Thursday, as the valid governorship candidate of the PDP for the 2023 governorship elections in Niger. Justice Zainab Abubakar, in a judgement, dismissed the suit brought by the plaintiff for lacking in merit. In the 25 seconds viral video trending on social media, the Niger PDP governorship candidate, who was dressed in a white long dress and a cap to match, was captured telling his supporters in English and Hausa languages that dire consequences await anyone who betray him at the poll. While describing himself as a generous man who looks out for others, Kantigi warned that those who collect his money without reciprocating with votes will be plagued with nightmares, and cold and would eventually die. He threatened, “If I give you and you spend it, from today, you will be receiving some kind of dream. After receiving the dreams, the next thing is that you will start feeling cold and after that, you will lose your life.”

  The Presidency has said that neither the Federal Government nor the Central Bank of Nigeria had taken a stand on the continued use of the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes as legal tenders seeing that the case is still pending before the Supreme Court, which will hear it today (Wednesday). The Senior Special Assistant to the President on media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said the FG would make its position on the new naira policy known after the determination of the suit on Wednesday. In a response to our correspondent on Tuesday, he said “Following series of enquiries, we wish to state that it is not true that the FG or the CBN has taken a pre-emptive action on the legality of currency as a legal tender in view of the pendency of the case before the Supreme Court. “We wish to state that it is not true that the Federal Government or the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN have taken a preemptive action on the legality of currency as a legal tender in view of the pendency of the case before the Supreme Court. “The position of the government and the CBN will be made known upon the determination of the suit coming up tomorrow.” This comes about one week after the Supreme Court, in a ruling on February 8, suspended the CBN’s February 10 deadline to halt the use of old naira notes. The bank had ordered citizens to exchange old N200, N500 and N1,000, banknotes for a redesigned version of the same currencies. However, the Supreme Court, responding to an ex parte application filed by the governments of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara, stopped the CBN from effecting its ban on the old notes pending the hearing and determination of the case on Wednesday, February 15.

  The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has extended its 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination registration by one week. The extension began from Wednesday, February 15, 2023. However, the sale of ePINs will end on February 20, 2023, while the UTME registration ends on Wednesday, February 22, 2023. The Head of Public Affairs and Protocol, JAMB, Dr Fabian Benjamin, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja. “At the close of the sale of e-PINs on Tuesday, 14th February, 2023, 1,527,068 candidates had successfully registered for the 2023 UTME exercise inclusive of the 168,748, who indicated their interest to take the Mock-UTME,” the statement read. A total of 1,527,068 candidates had successfully registered for the 2023 UTME exercise.

  The Central Bank of Nigeira, CBN has opened a portal for Nigerians to to deposit the old Naira notes by filling up forms. This development comes after the adjournment of the case on the legality of the February 10, 2023 deadline for the Naira Swap to February 22 by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court adjourned the case till February 22, 2023, and ordered that the old Naira notes remain legal tender until it sits next week Wednesday. Meanwhile, the portal for depositing old Naira notes has opened up on the Central Bank’s official website. On the portal, which is on cbn.gov.ng, depositors are required to fill in their Bank Verification Number (BVN), phone number, email address, bank details, address, the amount to be deposited as well as the denominations to be deposited, after which a reference number is generated. A guideline on the deposit of the old N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes commenced on Wednesday afternoon and is expected to run till Friday, February 17. To deposit their old notes at the CBN branches, customers would be required to have a completed online application form, copy of valid means of identification, and a completed teller. Once the account is verified, the equivalent of the cash would then be deposited in the customer’s bank account. “The CBN Branches do not open accounts for individuals. As such, Individuals who wish to deposit their old, redesigned notes must have an active account with a Deposit Money Bank (Commercial Bank). “Individuals who wish to deposit their old, redesigned notes are required to be orderly and comply with the instructions of the security personnel and other staff when in the Bank’s premises. if validation turns out negative, the Bank will return the unvalidated old, redesigned notes in the form deposited,” the guideline reads.

  ANAMBRA State governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo has said that the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, is in great pain as a result of insecurity in the South East geopolitical zone. Kanu is facing charges of a treasonable felony after he was brought back from Kenya. Speaking during the day of tribute for the late first Minister of Aviation, Chief Mbazulike Amechi, Soludo recalled that the late elder statesman made a strong call to President Muhammadu Buhari for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s release. Describing that call as justified, the governor said: “Every criminal is claiming to be a freedom fighter in the South East and Kanu is in pain about what is happening in the region. “Mbazulike Amechi was from Ukpor and unfortunately many of the criminals operate from Ukpor and he believed that the release of Kanu would facilitate the end of the criminality which has become a big industry. “We want to separate the criminals from those agitating for one thing or the other. “When I visited Nnamdi Kanu in prison, I told him about how criminals posing as freedom fighters are kidnapping and killing people. He called it an abomination. “My goal in calling for Nnamdi Kanu’s release is to separate the chaff from the substance. When he is released, we will know who the true agitation fighters and criminals are. “This is why I’m pleading for his release and I am confident he will be released”.