The Kano State Consumer Protection Council on Monday closed down the Wellcare Supermarket after the management refused to accept old naira notes from customers.
The acting Chairman of the council, Baffa Danagundi; and the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Social Media, Abubakar Ibrahim confirmed to reporters that the closure of the store was ordered Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.
The governor, a supporter of a ‘professional implementation’ of the naira redesign policy, had held discussions with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); bank managers, security heads, and traditional leaders to find ways to alleviate the difficulties faced by the public.
The CBN had extended the deadline for the swap of old N200, N500 and N1,000 from January 31 to February 10 but the Supreme Court held that the Federal Government, the CBN, commercial banks must not continue with the deadline pending the determination of a notice in respect of the issue on February 15.
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Africa Today News, New York reports that no fewer than five states including Kano had sued the Federal Government over the deadline for three old naira notes.
Meanwhile, the immediate past President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) had last week bemoaned the level of hardship workers and Nigerians are currently experiencing in the country due to scarcity of the naira and petrol.
Wabba pointed out that the NLC was restraining itself from taking drastic steps that may sabotage the February 2023 general elections.
The labour leader made this known while speaking at the Congress’s 13th National Delegates’ Conference held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
According to him, “this conference is taking place at a time when many Nigerians and workers are being pushed to the wall or into chaotic situations in our banks and filling stations. Nigerians are queuing up endlessly to assess the new currency notes and PMS. This is certainly not acceptable, and it is condemnable.