Business

Zamfara Gov Orders Arrest Of Residents Rejecting Old Naira

Published

3 years ago

February 11, 2023

Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State has instructed the security agents to arrest anybody who refuses to recognise and accept old naira notes as legal tender in the state.

Matawalle who gave the directive at a swearing-in ceremony of the new High Court Judges and Special Advisers held at the Government House Gusau on Friday said the redesigning of the currency was ill-timed and wrongly implemented.

He therefore directed that, “Anyone who refuses to accept the old currency notes of N200, N500 and N1000 in the state should be arrested.”

He said the old currency notes remain legal tender until the final verdict of the case instituted against the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Federal Government by three northern governors of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states at the Supreme Court.

The governor explained that he and his counterparts in Kogi and Kaduna are seeking the Supreme Court to order the extension and validity of the old naira notes.

Matawalle said, “As you are all aware, the economy of the country as a whole has been plunged into a serious crisis by the decision of the Central Bank to cease recognition of the old naira notes as legal tender from February 10.”

He said, “This decision compounded the already dire situation of our state occasioned by banditry and sundry crimes, which significantly disrupted economic activities in the state and the subregion over the years.

“It was in consideration of the grave consequences of this disruptive policy which was not well thought out, that I took the decision to team up with the sister states of Kaduna and Kogi to seek the intervention of the Supreme Court to ensure that both the new and old naira notes remain as legal tender beyond February 10.

“Gladly, the Supreme Court has given an interim injunction barring the CBN from the enforcement of its plan of phasing out the old notes as legal tender from February 10, pending its final ruling on the matter on February 15.”

PUNCH

Business

CBN Sets POS Maximum Transactions In Fresh Guidelines

Published

2 days ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

The Central Bank of Nigeria has rolled out fresh guidelines for agent banking, known as Point of Sales, across the country.

The apex also in the guidelines pegged daily POS transactions at N1.2 million per agent and N100,000 per individual.

CBN disclosed this in a circular signed by its Director of the Payments System Management Department, Musa Jimoh.

The guidelines further mandate all financial institutions to publish the list of all their POS agents on their website and to display it in their branches.

CBN noted that the guidelines would take effect from April 1, 2026.

“The Guidelines aim to establish minimum standards for operating agent banking in Nigeria, enhancing agent banking to provide financial services and promoting financial inclusion, encouraging responsible market conduct and improving service quality in agent banking operations.

“This circular takes effect from the date of release, while the implementation of agent location and agent exclusivity shall be in effect from April 1, 2026.

“POS agents are restricted to a maximum of N1.2 million per day. Individual customers are limited to N100,000 in daily transactions.

“These limits are intended to curb misuse, enhance financial integrity, and protect consumers within the agent banking framework,” it stated.

Business

Naira Records First Appreciation Against US Dollar At Official Market

Published

2 days ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

The Naira recorded appreciation on Wednesday against the United States dollar at the official market, the first time in three days this week.

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s exchange rate data showed that the Naira strengthened to N 1,470.62 per dollar on Wednesday, up from N1,471.09 traded on Tuesday.

This means that the country’s currency firmed up slightly by N0.47 against the dollar on a day-to-day basis.

Monday and Tuesday, the Naira recorded negative sentiment at the official foreign exchange market.

However, at the black market, the Naira remained unchanged at N1,500 per dollar on Wednesday, the same rate exchanged on Tuesday.

The apex bank data indicated that the country’s external reserves, a determinant of the exchange rates, stood at $42.57 billion as of October 7, 2025.

Business

SEC Warns Nigerians Of AfriQuantumX Ponzi scheme

Published

2 days ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has named AfriQuatum, with a claimed worth of N76 billion, as a Ponzi scheme.

The regulator also urged the public to be cautious about investing with the firm.

SEC disclosed this in a recent statement.

According to the SEC, any person who places an investment or engages with the entity does so at his or her own risk, adding that its operations exhibit characteristics commonly associated with fraudulent Ponzi schemes.

“The attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission has been drawn to the activities of AfriQuantumX, which holds itself out as an investment platform trading on and selling cryptocurrency and stocks to investors in Nigeria.

“The Commission hereby informs the public that AfriQuantumX is not registered by the Commission either to solicit investments from the public or operate in any capacity within the Nigerian capital market,” SEC stated.