Business

New Naira: Nigerians Divided Over Supreme Court Ruling

Published

2 years ago

February 8, 2023

Nigerians have responded to the judgement of the Supreme Court stopping the Central Bank of Nigeria from implementing old naira notes deadline.

A seven-man panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice John Okoro, in a unanimous ruling, granted an interim injunction restraining the Federal Government, Central Bank of Nigeria and their agents and commercial banks from implementing the February 10 terminal dates for the now old 200, 500 and 1000 naira notes to stop being a legal tender.

Earlier, the PUNCH reported the court stopped the Federal Government, CBN and commercial banks from continuing with the deadline pending the determination of a notice in respect of the issue on February 15.

Delivering ruling in the motion, Justice Okoro, held that after careful consideration of the motion ex parte the application is granted as prayed, “An order of Interim Injunction restraining the federal government through the Central Bank of Nigeria or the commercial banks from suspending or determining or ending on February 10, 2023, the time frame with which the now older version of the 200, 500 and 1,000 denomination of the naira may no longer be legal tender pending the hearing and determination of their motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.”

Meanwhile, netizens have reacted to the judgement of the court. While some applauded verdict of the apex court, some could not hide their disappointment.

Reacting on Twitter, Tuskay @tosin22586 said “There must be an adequate spread of the new notes before the old notes can be banned from use”

@Pattosky2 tweeted, “Mbuhari disobeyed the supreme court decision to free Nnamdi kalu unconditionally Let’s see if he will obey this one.”

FamousChief @Weike15 said “The funny thing is that the carrot seller on my street will NOT collect old naira a day before 10th February talk more of a day after 10th”

@MaziGomez_ tweeted “This is the time Buhari should disobey a court order. Not all those ones he’s been doing.”

SecretService @NumerophobeThe Nigerian said, “The people are fully behind President Muhammadu Buhari and Godwin Emefiele on this one. Tinubu and his APC cronies can cry all they want, but the deadline remains February 10.”

Fakunle Akanni expressed his view on Facebook saying, “The judgement is a good radiance to a bad rubbish. The rich, the politicians and the bandits have all changed their money; only the poor are still with billions of the old notes. Even if the judgement is a political judgement as some said it is a welcome political judgement.”

Obong Essien was of the view that “Those politicians who might have stored millions in their homes are sure to win elections in their various domains by-fire-by-force through vote buying. Some of them knows very well by their little or no popularity they cannot win a vote without money. I wish the Nigerian youths can vote their conscience instead of money.”

The PUNCH reported that as the naira scarcity persisted, some banks were shutting their branches over rising customer attacks.

The PUNCH also observed that some of the banks had started to allow non-essential employees to work from home.

PUNCH

Business

Naira Depreciates Against Dollar

Published

11 hours ago

July 4, 2025

Editor

The Naira experienced a slight depreciation on Friday at the official market, trading at N1,528.56 to the dollar.

Data obtained from the website of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the Naira lost N2.73.

This represents a 0.17 percent loss compared to the N1,525.82 recorded on Thursday.

The Naira, which opened the week on Monday with a gain of N9.52 against the dollar, held steady gains until Thursday.

On Wednesday, the local currency gained N3.42 against the dollar and received commendation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The IMF, in its 2025 Article IV Consultation report on Nigeria, commended the CBN for its reforms to the foreign exchange market, which supported price discovery and liquidity.

Business

JUST IN: Dangote Refinery Hikes Petrol Ex-depot Price

Published

2 weeks ago

June 20, 2025

Editor

Nigerians may soon pay more for petrol as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery on Friday increased its ex-depot price for Premium Motor Spirit to N880 per litre, raising fresh concerns over fuel affordability and price volatility in the downstream sector.

Checks on petroleumprice.ng, a platform tracking daily product prices, and a Pro Forma Invoice seen by The PUNCH confirmed the hike, representing a N55 increase from the previous rate of N825 per litre.

The increment would ripple across the entire fuel distribution chain, likely pushing pump prices above N900/litre in some parts of the country, especially in areas far from the distribution hubs.

The hike comes despite global crude prices falling. Brent crude dipped by 3.02% to $76.47, WTI fell to $74.93, and Murban dropped to $76.97 on Friday. The decline in benchmarks offers little relief due to persistent fears of sudden supply disruptions.

The refinery has increased its reliance on imported U.S. crude and operational costs amid exchange rate instability, which adds to its pricing pressure.

On Thursday, the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said his 650,000-barrel capacity refinery is “increasingly” relying on the United States for crude oil.

This came as findings showed that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery is projected to import a total of 17.65 million barrels of crude oil between April and July 2025, beginning with about 3.65 million barrels already delivered in the past two months, amid ongoing allocations under the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude policy.

Dangote informed the Technical Committee of the One-Stop Shop for the sale of crude and refined products in naira initiative that the refinery was still battling crude shortages, which had led it to resort to imports from the United States.

On Monday, the president of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, Festus Osifo, accused oil marketers of exploiting Nigerians through inflated petrol prices, insisting that the current pump price of PMS should range between N700 and N750 per litre.

He criticised the disparity between falling global crude oil prices and the stagnant retail price of petrol in Nigeria.

“If you go online and check the PLAT cost per cubic metre of PMS, convert that to litres and then to our Naira, you will see that with crude at around $60 per barrel, petrol should be retailing between N700 and N750 per litre.”

He asserted that if Nigerians bear the brunt of higher fuel costs, they should be allowed to enjoy the benefit of low pricing.

His forecast of increased costs now appears spot on, considering the latest developments.

Marketers are already adjusting. Depot owners and fuel distributors in Lagos and other cities anticipate a domino effect, with new price bands expected to follow Dangote’s lead.

Many had held back pricing decisions since Tuesday, when the refinery halted sales and withheld fresh PFIs. The delay fueled speculation, allowing opportunistic price hikes across various depots.

Business

Naira Appreciates At Official Market

Published

1 month ago

May 24, 2025

Editor

The Naira, which has seen steady appreciation against the Dollar all week, closed stronger on Friday, trading at ₦1,580.44 in the official forex market.

Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s website show the Naira gained ₦4.51k against the Dollar on Friday alone.

This marks a 0.28 per cent appreciation from Thursday’s closing rate of ₦1,584.95 in the official foreign exchange window.

The local currency maintained consistent strength throughout the week, recording gains daily.

On Monday, May 19, it traded at ₦1,598.68; on Tuesday, at ₦1,590.45; and on Wednesday, at ₦1,584.49.

These gains suggest increased investor confidence and improved forex supply, contributing to the naira’s performance.

Meanwhile, the CBN, at its 300th Monetary Policy Committee meeting held Monday and Tuesday, retained the Monetary Policy Rate at 27.5 per cent.