Accept old, new notes naira notes, Kaduna govt tells MDAs

The Kaduna State government has authorised all of its Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to continue accepting payments in both old and new naira notes in defiance of President Muhammadu Buhari’s order.

Muyiwa Adekeye, Governor Nasir El-Special Rufai’s Assistant on Media and Communications, issued the order on Sunday, February 19, 2023.

According to the statement, which was also shared on El-verified Rufai’s Twitter page, the directive became necessary following the Supreme Court order that upheld the legality of the old naira notes.

It read: “In line with the subsisting order of the Supreme Court, the Kaduna State Government has directed its ministries, departments and agencies to ensure that their collection agents continue to accept payments made in all denominations of the naira, old and new.

“The laws of Kaduna state do not allow personnel of government agencies to be involved in cash collection of revenues.

“The collection agents authorised by the state government agencies do offer citizens a route for cash payment, and are expected to comply with the subsisting court order.”

President Buhari stated in a national broadcast on Thursday, February 15, 2023, that the old N500 and N1,000 banknotes are no longer legal tender in the country and urged Nigerians to deposit the ‘outdated’ notes at designated Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) locations.

However, the president stated that the old N200 notes would be permitted to circulate alongside the redesigned ones until April 10, 2023.

However, in a late-night state broadcast, El-Rufai advised Kaduna residents to continue using both the old and new N1000 and N500 notes.

The governor insisted that the Supreme Court had issued a stay of execution on the expiration of the two notes and chastised the Federal Government for defying the apex court.