Shoprite, Rainoil, Otres and other business outlets in the Warri area of Delta State have started refusing the old naira notes of 1000, 500 and 200 for transactions despite the Supreme Court order restraining the Federal Government from implementing the phase-out of the use of the notes as legal tender from February 10, 2023.
Recall that the apex court on Wednesday, February 8, 2023, halted the plan by the Nigerian government to ban the use of the old naira notes from February 10 when it granted an exparte application brought by three northern states of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara.
In response to the Supreme Court order, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), the next day, Thursday said the federal government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will obey the order restraining despite filing a preliminary objection to the suit instituted by the government of the three northern states.
However, an investigation by NewsNet Nigeria in the Warri area on Sunday on the compliance of the Supreme Court order revealed that some business outfits have started refusing to accept the old N200, N500 and N1000 notes.
A customer who went to Shoprite situated by the popular Effurun roundabout in Uvwie Local Government Area on Sunday told NewsNet Nigeria that the cashiers refused to accept the old naira notes for purchases.
“The cashier, I went to pay to after shopping for some few items declined to accept the old naira notes.
“She told me that the management of Shoprite threatened to deduct from their salary any of them who accept the old notes,” said the customer who craved anonymity.
At the Rainoli filling station by the Ogunu bridge in Warri where Our Correspondent went to buy petrol on Sunday morning a woman almost fought with the male pump attendant for refusing the old naira notes to dispense the product.
Most car owners and those that came with Jerricans to buy fuel left the filling station angry and frustrated as only those with their ATMs were being attended to.
It was the same situation at Otres Restaurant Warri, where customers who were hungry to buy food were disappointed on Sunday as the sales boys and girls refused to sell to them allegedly following the order of the owner.
