With our correspondent in Lagos, Liza Fabbian
President Muhammadu Buhari ended up making a gesture, faced with the multiplication of demonstrations. In an early morning television address, the Nigerian head of state announced on Thursday that banks will put 200 naira notes back into circulation, withdrawn from the circuit in recent weeks. They will be valid until April 10.
A priori, this announcement is good news for Nigerians, who have the greatest difficulty in getting their hands on cash. Yet the directive appears to partially contradict an earlier Supreme Court ruling that all old tickets remain valid until further notice. The governors who appealed to the Supreme Court were also contacted directly by the presidency, which suggested that they withdraw their appeal following Muhammadu Buhari’s gesture.
Finally, the situation remains very confusede in Nigeria, where no one really knows which tickets can still be used or not and until when… Everyone is therefore organized in their own way, according to the regions and the denominations still available.
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