By Ismail Auwal
Kano State Government has shut Wellcare shopping complex for refusing to accept old naira notes from customers.
According to a source in the committee that oversaw the complex’s closure, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje ordered the clampdown after discovering of the condition.
“The governor has also directed us to shut down all state businesses that are refusing the old naira notes from residents.”
The directives, according to the source, were intended to “alleviate the agony citizens are experiencing as a result of the naira swap policy.”
“The governor has also directed and urged Kano citizens to report any business that refuses to accept the old naira notes,” the source said.
It could be recalled that the Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) not to end the use of old naira notes on 10 February.
The court gave the order temporarily, cancelling the CBN’s 10 February deadline to end the validity of the old versions of the banknotes based on an ex parte application filed by three northern states being controlled by the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The three applicant states are – Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara.
The governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai, has been one of the most vocal critics of the naira redesign policy.
