Nigeria’s Supreme Court on Wednesday prevented the government from enforcing a Friday deadline for citizens to swap old banknotes for new ones, as the International Monetary Fund flagged disruptions to trade and payments.
Nigerians were due to turn in old 1,000, 500 and 200 naira banknotes in exchange for newly designed notes by Friday as part of a central bank initiative to curb cash in circulation and control double-digit inflation.
The plan has caused huge controversy, with people saying there are not yet enough new notes available, leading to chaotic scenes at banks and acute cash shortages.
Some politicians have criticised the timing ahead of Feb. 25 elections for a new president and lawmakers, as campaigns are funded by mostly hard-to-trace cash.
Supreme Court Judge John Inyang Okoro said the decision to suspend the deadline was unanimous, pending a legal challenge from three states who had argued that the note swap plan was causing hardship ahead of the elections.
The International Monetary Fund also urged the central bank to consider extending the deadline for the old notes to cease to be legal tender if the lack of access to new notes persists.
Read also; Nigeria Extends Deadline to Exchange Old Currency by 10 Days.
