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What will happen to the old naira notes? House of Reps reveals details of meeting with CBN governor Emefiele
- After failing to honour the House of Reps’ invitations, the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, finally showed up on Tuesday, January 31
- At the meeting, the Green Chamber said it agreed with Emefiele that there will no longer be any time limit for the validity of the old Naira notes
- The lawmakers also said it has directed the CBN governor, Emefiele, to submit a weekly report on releases of the new notes to commercial banks so that the House could verify relevant claims
National Assembly, Abuja – The House of Representatives says it has reached an agreement with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that a time limit will no longer apply to the validity of old naira notes after the expiration of the February 10 deadline set by the apex bank.
This was disclosed in a statement released by the Green Chamber and sighted by Legit.ng on Tuesday evening, January 31.
Source: Facebook
Recall that the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, met with the House ad-hoc committee looking into the cashless policy and the naira swap timeframe on Tuesday after failing to honour previous invitations.
Old Naira notes: What is the implication of the House of Reps’ agreement with the CBN?
According to the lawmakers, the agreement reached with the CBN means that the face value of the old N1000, N500 and N200 notes will continue to be redeemable in compliance with Section 20 (3) of the CBN Establishment Act.
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Legit.ng gathers that banks will continue to mop up the notes even after they cease to be legal tender on February 10 without a time limit.
CBN governor Emefiele to give weekly report
Meanwhile, the lawmakers also disclosed that it has directed the CBN governor, Emefiele, to submit a weekly report on releases of the new notes to commercial banks so that the House could verify claims by the CEOs of the banks that the apex bank had not been releasing enough cash to them.
The CBN was also directed to restore over-the-counter transactions by the banks and increase Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cash withdrawal limits in order to fast-track the circulation of the new notes.
The House added that the ad-hoc committee will continue to monitor the operations of the CBN in this regard to ensure compliance with the decisions of the House.
It further directed Emefiele to ensure that new naira notes are available across the Federation forthwith.
Ad-hoc committee submit report to House
It was further learned that the ad-hoc committee submitted a report on its engagement with Emefiele to the House, which later approved the recommendations as well as made additional recommendations.
Legit.ng notes that the House, which was presided over by the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, had waded into the issue when it became noticeable that new naira notes were not available in sufficient quantity as the earlier January 31 deadline set by the CBN to withdraw them drew close.
However, both sides agreed on Tuesday that the face value of the notes would continue to be redeemed beyond the new deadline of February 10 when they would have ceased to be legal tender.
Nigerians react
Ishaq Adamu said on Facebook:
“We are proud of you, our able representatives, may ALLAH strengthens your efforts.”
Ibrahim Bala Kirfi said:
“Well done, but my suggestions to honorable house is that they should specify the time limit for the collection of old naira notes, so that Nigerians may be wellknown about the issue.”
Labaran Shuaibu said on Facebook:
“It’s absolutely unfortunate for our professionals not doing things in order. You’re planning to initiate something new but nothing on ground for the actualization of what you are planning to do, just because of personal interest and wickedness of the highest to put masses in difficult situation”
Bidex Kingsley said:
“First time in the history of Nigeria that the H.Rep members will represent the people well in national issue…”
Comr St. Jude D-Smog said:
“The old and new notes can run concurrently until the new notes circulates. Nigerian Government should stop punishing her citizens.”
Naira redesign: Lagos Assembly commends National Assembly’s swift reaction
Meanwhile, the Lagos state House of Assembly has commended the National Assembly for its swift intervention in the controversy generated by the naira redesign policy of the CBN.
Members of the Assembly say the policy has brought mass suffering to the citizens of the country, adding that the Nigerian economy is in danger due to the move by the CBN.
The lawmakers stated that even though the policy was a good one, its timing was wrong.
Source: Legit.ng
- Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Kayode Ariwoola was spotted in Abuja on Friday, March 24
- The CJN was seen leaving the Supreme Court in Abuja for the usual Friday prayers amid claims that he is in London with Bola Ahmed Tinubu
- This latest update dismisses the unfounded speculation that Tinubu is trying to buy Ariwoola’s heart as the head of Nigeria’s judiciary
Amid rumours that he was in a private meeting with President-elect Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Kayode Ariwoola has been spotted in Abuja.
CJN Ariwoola, according to Channels TV, was seen on Friday, March 24, leaving the Supreme Court for the Ansar-Ud-Deen Central Mosque in Abuja to observe his prayers.
Source: Twitter
The speculations that Ariwoola is in London with Tinubu are fuelling suspicion that the latter is making smart moves to buy the former’s heart while court cases surrounding the outcome of the presidential election abound.
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Presidential election tribunal: Did Tinubu, CJN Ariwoola meet in UK? Fresh details emerge
Amid several news reports about a meeting between Nigeria’s president-elect, Bola Tinubu and the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kayode Ariwoola, in the United Kingdom, Ahmed Raji (SAN) has dismissed such claims.
Raji said the reports were false and were an attempt to mar the image of the Supreme Court of Justice.
As reported by the Nigerian Tribune, Raji revealed on Thursday, March 23, that Justice Ariwoola was indeed in the United Kingdom but was there only on medical leave but returned to Nigeria in the early hours of Thursday.
Meanwhile, a series of reports confirmed that Tinubu had left the country on health grounds as well.
Raji said:
“It is in the news since Tuesday evening that Tinubu was travelling to Europe for medical reasons as well as for lesser hajj, further reports indicated that he is in France to meet with his medical doctor, why would somebody now link that to the CJN that has left Nigeria for the UK since Saturday to observe his own medical session and just came back today (Thursday) as meeting?”
Source: Legit.ng
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Jubilation as Court of Appeal gives verdict on PDP’s suit seeking to disqualify Tinubu, Shettima, awards N5m fine
- President-elect Bola Tinubu secured another victory at the Court of Appeal in Abuja on Monday, March 24
- The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had asked the appellate court to disqualify Tinubu and the vice president-elect Kashim Shettima, claiming they were not properly nominated
- However, the court dismissed the suit for lacking in merit and awarded a fine of N5 million against the PDP
FCT, Abuja – The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed a suit by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seeking to disqualify the president-elect, Bola Tinubu and the vice president-elect, Kashim Shettima, from participating in the February 25 presidential election.
In the unanimous judgement delivered by Justice Danlami Senchi, the appellate court dismissed the appeal for lacking merit, Nigerian Tribune reported.
Source: Facebook
Justice Senchi described the appellant, that is the PDP, as a meddlesome interloper, holding that the court cannot be used to perform illegality.
He said the PDP failed to disclose that it has the legal right to institute the action.
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“This appeal is of no merit and it is accordingly dismissed,” the court ruled and awarded a fine of N5 million against the PDP.
2023 presidency: What is the suit about?
The PDP, whose candidate, Atiku Abubakar, came second in the presidential election had contended that the APC candidate, Tinubu, who was declared the winner of the presidential contest, was legally ineligible to participate in the poll.
The party told the court that the manner the APC and Tinubu nominated Shettima as a Vice Presidential candidate for the election, was in gross breach of the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022, as amended.
It claimed Shettima was nominated twice, both for the Vice Presidential position, as well as for the Borno Central Senatorial seat, an action it argued contravened the law.
The PDP had lost the case at the Federal High Court in Abuja before proceeding to the appellate court. Both INEC and APC were equally cited as Respondents in the appeal.
How the APC defended itself against PDP’s suit
Legit.ng gathers that Tinubu and Shettima, through their lawyers challenged the competence of the suit and the jurisdiction of the court to entertain it.
They contended that PDP was bereft of the locus standi (legal right) to institute the action against them.
According to them, no portion of the law conferred on the PDP, the right to dabble into the domestic affair of another political party, especially on the issue of the nomination of its candidates for an election.
The Federal High Court upheld the preliminary objection by Tinubu and Shettima and dismissed the suit for lacking in merit.
Court Orders Atiku, Peter Obi to serve petitions on Tinubu
In another report, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of the PDP) and Labour Party (LP) have been granted permission to serve their petitions on Tinubu, Shettima and Kabir Masari through the APC.
The permission was granted alongside that of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) by the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC).
Legit.ng gathers that the petitioners argued before the tribunal that Tinubu, the president-elect, was avoiding their petitions.
Source: Legit.ng
Source: AFP
President Joe Biden laid out a vision of world-leading US-Canadian economic cooperation in a speech to Canada’s parliament Friday, and announced that the giant neighbors had reached a deal on curbing illegal migration.
Standing ovations by Canadian lawmakers punctuated Biden’s roughly half-hour speech in Ottawa that was thick on praise for North American unity — a sentiment matched earlier when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered his own address.
“Americans and Canadians are two peoples, two countries, in my view sharing one heart,” Biden said, getting cheers when he vowed Canada will “always be able to count on the United States.”
Biden signalled a resolution to one irritant in the close relationship, with a deal on managing the growing issue of undocumented migration on their lengthy border.
“The United States and Canada will work together to discourage unlawful border crossings,” he said. The arrangement will see undocumented asylum seekers crossing from the United States into Canada turned back, while Canada will simultaneously expand the pathway for legal entries.
The plan — similar to a crackdown on the much more heavily used US-Mexican border — has been criticized by migrants’ rights activists. However, Biden and Trudeau are both under political pressure to relieve their badly strained immigration systems and Biden said that regardless, “welcoming refugees and asylum seekers is a part of who Canadians and Americans are.”
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Biden opened his speech with a nod to Canadian bilingualism, greeting parliamentarians with “good afternoon” and “bonjour” — joking that this was as far as he’d got in four years of French at school.
And the bonhomie flowed from then on.
Biden laid out a vision of the neighbors being ever more closely bound with the joint goal of building high-tech economies and reinforcing supply chains for things like critical minerals used in electric vehicle manufacturing.
“Canada and the United States can do big things,” he concluded to more cheering. “We’re going to write the future together.”
Trudeau earlier greeted Biden at the parliament building, saying Canada has “no greater friend and ally than the United States” — a message underlined through the gift to Biden of a chocolate bar from Peace by Chocolate, a brand started by Syrian refugees.
NORAD, China, Haiti
Source: AFP
Earlier face-to-face talks between Biden and Trudeau covered a range of areas where both sides are pushing for improvements.
The US government has been pressuring Canada to increase its defense spending, which in 2022 was just 1.33 percent of GDP. This is scheduled to rise to 1.59 percent from 2026, but that’s still well below the NATO alliance requirement of minimum two percent of GDP spending.
A joint statement said that Biden and Trudeau agreed to modernizing their countries’ joint air defense alliance, NORAD, with Canada putting billions of dollars into improved radar and fighter aircraft infrastructure.
A revamped NORAD will “defend against emerging threats to our air and sea space and compete with China and Russia for years to come,” the statement said.
The two leaders reaffirmed support for pro-Western Ukraine “for as long as it takes” in its war to push back Russian invasion, and also issued a warning to China.
“Canada and the United States acknowledge the serious long-term challenge to the international order posed by the People’s Republic of China, including disruptive actions such as economic coercion, non-market policies and practices, and human rights abuses,” the statement said.
“While we will cooperate with China in areas of mutual interest, such as on climate change, we remain committed to ensuring our ability to compete effectively with China on a level playing field.”
Closer to home, the two leaders said they “remain concerned about deteriorating security in Haiti,” but did not say whether progress had been made on long-discussed plans for an international intervention force to stabilize the chaotic Caribbean nation.
Source: AFP