Some commercial banks and filling stations have stopped collecting the old naira notes from customers, contrary to the ruling of the Supreme Court restraining the Federal Government from enforcing the February 10 time limit earlier fixed by the apex bank for the currency swap.
Findings on Monday indicated that the banks refused to accept the old N1,000, N500 and N200 notes from depositors and point-of-service agents who flooded the bank to lodge their cash.
Point of service operators and other bank customers whose old naira notes were rejected, panicked as bank officials, who said they were acting on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive, remained adamant.
As the naira crisis worsened, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, again met with the President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa on Monday.
Emefiele, who had met with the President about six times since the naira crisis started, failed to address correspondents as he reportedly left the villa through a side entrance.
The governments of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states on February 8 secured the order of the apex court extending the deadline beyond last Friday stipulated by the CBN for the use of the old notes.
A seven-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice John Okoro directed that the deadline be suspended till Wednesday when the proceedings would continue even as other states had applied to join the suit.
But our correspondent who visited the Mobil filling station at First Gate bus stop along Lagos-Badagry Expressway observed that the attendants refused to accept the old naira notes on Monday.
Checks also showed that banks in the Ikeja area of Lagos State refused to collect the old notes from customers.
Some frustrated and desperate customers were seen making frantic calls to their friends and loved ones intimating them of the development.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a staff member of one of the commercial banks said that they were instructed not to collect the old naira notes.
Findings also indicate that some banks in Abuja, the capital city, have stopped accepting the old notes. Officials who spoke to our correspondent said the policy was in line with a directive from the apex bank, noting that they did not know anything about the Supreme Court order.