Northern traders applaud Matawalle’s order on old naira

The Amalgamated Union of Northern Traders has agreed with the governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, who ordered security personnel to detain anyone who refuses to accept outdated naira notes during transactions.

During a news conference in Sokoto State, the traders expressed their opinions on the subject.

According to sources, Matawalle and his counterparts from the states of Kogi and Kaduna took the Federal Government before the Supreme Court in order to request an order extending the validity of the previous N200, N500, and N1000 notes.

The Supreme Court, in its ruling on Wednesday, stopped the CBN from implementing the February 10 deadline for the validity of the old notes as legal tender.

The group’s youth leader, Alhaji Sanusi Nufawa, noted that the informal sector could only be revived if leaders took drastic decisions to make people do transactions with both old and new notes just like Matawalle noted.

He expressed optimism that the circulation of old notes and gradual withdrawal and replacement of old with new notes would ease people’s sufferings.

According to him, he was convinced that those against Matawalle’s action and victory at the Supreme Court are either misguided or blinded by political chauvinism.

The trader leader further commended the governor for openly standing behind his people than becoming a burden like others doing now; using the suffering for political gains.

He also commended the National Council of State in their resolution to the government on producing more naira notes and considering people’s plights.

He said the effort would further reduce and relieve the pains that ordinary Nigerians are experiencing in the face of scarcity of both the old and new naira notes.