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Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has appealed to residents of the state to stop rejecting old N500 and N1000 denominations.
Traders, farmers, business owners in the State have continued to reject the old notes despite the Supreme Court ruling.
In a state broadcast to the populace, Governor Akeredolu issued a warning that refusing to accept the old one-note bills constituted flagrant defiance of the law and would cause and prolong unnecessary suffering for the populace and consumers.
According to Akeredolu, the Supreme Court of Nigeria has definitively decided that all old naira notes in the country’s economy are legitimate and should be put back into circulation.
He urged the populace to accept both the new and the old notes in accordance with the law.
His words:”It is imperative that I address you today because of the need to halt a self-induced pain currently being experienced by us all in the state. This is on account of the circulation and use of the old naira notes in our economy.
“Credible information reaching me indicates that quite a large number of residents of the state are denied the use of the old currency notes issued by the Central bank of Nigeria.
“This comes in form of rejection of the old notes as legal tender and means of exchange for goods and services particularly by traders, artisans, transporters, farmers and a large percentage of the operators of the informal sector of our economy in Ondo State.
“This development is unfortunate, undesirable and uncalled for. This is because the matter of legitimacy and return into circulation of all old naira notes in the nation’s economy has been settled permanently by the Supreme Court of Nigeria and also backed up by the appropriate instruments of implementation by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“It is therefore of great concern to me today, that a large section of our people in the state, particularly traders in our markets, taxi and bus drivers, barbers, auto mechanics and artisans are rejecting the old naira notes thereby inflicting and sustaining a needless pain on their fellow citizens and customers. This is unfortunate and unexpected. It is a flagrant disobedience to the law and the Central Bank directives.
“I, therefore, wish to inform you that the rejection of the old one thousand naira, five hundred naira and two-hundred-naira notes by us will do us no good. It will stifle our local trade and business transactions, weaken our economy and cause us great harm and avoidable troubles.”
The Governor urged all media organisations in the state, as well as all traditional rulers, community leaders and opinion molders to assist Government in educating the people, especially at the grassroots on the need to embrace and accept the old naira notes.