Banks close as demonstrations over the lack of new notes rattle Kogi

On Wednesday, some commercial banks in Kogi remained closed after customers staged nonviolent demonstrations over their inability to obtain cash for daily needs.

Affected banks along IBB Way include GTB, Unity, Zenith, Access, and Unity Bank, all closed for the day.

Numerous consumers in Lokoja protested banks, urging them to stop reporting “no money” every day or modify it.
Customers informed media that the demonstration was in response to claims that banks had blatantly disobeyed the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) order by refusing to give or dispense the redesigned naira notes to customers.

An anonymous staff of the bank voiced worry about the false perception that consumers had regarding commercial banks in relation to the non-availability of the new naira notes.

As things stand, we have no choice but to skip work today because the agitated clients have locked us out, she bemoaned.

At the banks along the same IBB Way, Polaris, UBA, Eco, and Fidelity, which were open for business, the scenario is different.
In contrast to those boycotted, it was learned that the few banks attempted to give consumers access to cash to some level.

Spend old notes as usual; Tinubu will reverse decision when he wins: El-Rufai

Nasiru El-Rufai, the governor of Kaduna, has advised people to disobey the Central Bank’s order and carry on using older denominations of the naira notes that the top bank is disposing of. When Bola Tinubu, the APC’s presidential candidate, is elected, the policy would be changed, according to him.

The Kaduna governor remarked in Hausa, “Everyone, especially residents in Kaduna, should not be worried because of the naira swap deadline.” “Continue managing your businesses and day-to-day operations with whatever notes you have, whether they are new or old.”

And as soon as we win the election, we’ll make sure to address this issue, he continued. If we win the election, that will be the first problem we address.

When addressing a political gathering in his state, Mr. El-Rufai made the claim and urged them to quit swarming banks to exchange their old notes or receive new ones.

As a key component of its new cash strategy, the CBN under Godwin Emefiele had announced that former denominations of the N200, N500, and N1000 notes would no longer be accepted as legal tender in Nigeria as of February 10. Due to the extreme scarcity of the new notes, the move has left many Nigerians in a difficult situation.

“Don’t push yourself into going to the bank with old naira bills and wasting time in the pointless lines. Nobody can prevent you from using the notes, Mr. El-Rufai assured the audience.

“We’ll give people extra time to get rid of the old naira notes when we get to power, (Insha Allah), if Bola Tinubu becomes the president.”

The Federal Government approves use of Hijab for female Muslim students

The Federal Government has approved the use of Hijab for female Muslim students. The Federal Ministry of Education’s Permanent Secretary, Andrew David Adejo, wrote this in a circular dated February 1, 2023.

According to the circular “This is to bring to your notice that the Ministry has approved the use of corporate/cape size hijab as part of school uniform by female Muslim students in all the Federal Unity Colleges and Federal Science and Technical Colleges.”

All 112 Federal Unity Colleges and Federal Science and Technical Colleges in the nation received the circular, which Middle Belt Times was able to obtain.

He clarified that any of the authorized school uniforms may be worn with a corporate/cape-size hijab by pupils at the schools.

Recall that in March 4 2022, the Cable reported that Usman Baba, the Nigeria Police Force’s inspector general of police (IGP), has approved a new dress code that permits female officers to wear the hijab (NPF).

Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the force spokeswoman, had stated that the new clothing code was announced on Thursday during a meeting with the IGP and “strategic police management.”

The new dress code, according to Adejobi, was adopted to ensure gender equality in the police for “optimum output and professionalism”.

Supreme Court postpones CBN’s old naira notes deadline of February 10

The three APC-controlled states of Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara petitioned the Supreme Court, which issued the ruling

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was given a directive by the Supreme Court on Wednesday to postpone the 10 February deadline for the use of old naira notes.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), a seven-member court panel chaired by John Okoro issued the temporary injunction due to a severe shortage of freshly redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes.

In a decision on an exparte suit filed by the three states of Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara, a seven-member panel led by Justice John Okoro halted the federal government proposal.

This comes as the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (ret. ), the CBN, its Governor Godwin Emefiele, and 27 commercial banks were prohibited by a Federal Capital Territory High Court from suspending, stopping, extending, or meddling with the currency swap terminal date.

Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom had earlier joined the National Assembly to call on President Muhammadu Buhari and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to extend the deadline for the removal of old Naira notes from circulation until June 2023.