Business community in the Federal Capital Territory(FCT) say they are anxious to hear from President Muhammadu Buhari or Central Bank Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele over validity of old notes.
The business operators said they were aware of the Supreme Court ruling that old N500 and N1000 notes remained legal tender till Dec. 31.
They, however, said it was risky to accept the notes until directive from either the presidency or the CBN.
They said their decision was borne out of the controversy that followed a similar Supreme Court pronouncement that was not adhered to.
A taxi driver, Mr Abubakar Umar, said he was hopeful that Buhari or Emefiele would speak within the week on the whether or not they should go ahead and accept those old notes.
He said until such directive was given, he would insist that customers paid him only with new N500 or N1000 notes.
A petty trader, Uloma, said that “until I hear from the horse’s mouth I will not collect the old notes”.
She said she would not want to go through the stress she went through when the notes were declared invalid by the CBN.
A resident, Mr Fred Oyibo, said he was excited when the pronouncement validating the use of the old notes was made by the Supreme Court.
He, however, expressed disappointment that he could not use the old notes he had, adding that business operators were still rejecting them in spite of the ruling.
“I have about N3000 of the old N1000 note with me and I felt elated when the court gave the ruling but to my dismay the money was rejected when I went out to buy a few items with it.
“I tried informing them that the ban had been lifted by the Supreme Court and they asked if the CBN had spoken.
“I further tried to educate them that once the Supreme Court gives a ruling, everyone was bound by it but they insisted on hearing from the Executive before taking any action.
“At that point I got discouraged and went back home and as I speak with you I still have the money with me,”he said.
Following the redesigning of N200, N500 and N1,000 notes by the CBN, Jan. 31, was announced as deadline for use of the old notes.
The Jan. 31 deadline was, however, met with protests from Nigerians, forcing the CBN to extend the deadline to Feb. 10.
The extension was equally met with outrage, leading to President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive that old the N200 note should be used alongside the redesigned one for a period of time.
Meanwhile, governors of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara had approached the Supreme Court on Feb. 3, requesting that the extention should be beyond Feb. 10 as announced by the CBN.
Following the suit, a seven-member panel of the apex court, led by John Okoro gave the order suspending the Feb. 10 deadline till Feb. 15, when the suit would be determined.
The case was however not determined on Feb. 15 as it was adjourned till Feb. 22 and subsequently to March 3, when judgement was delivered.
In the judgment, the Supreme Court ruled that all old denominations including the N500 and N1000 notes remained valid till December 31.
