The Supreme Court on Wednesday affirmed the validity of the use of old 200, 500 and 1000 naira notes.

The apex court maintained that the February 8 hearing which paused the implementation of the February 10 deadline ban on the use of old naira notes still subsists.

The clarification from the court followed a complaint by Abdulhakeem Mustapha (SAN), lawyer to the Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states respectively.

A seven-man panel of the Supreme Court last Wednesday in a unanimous ruling granted an interim injunction restraining the Federal Government from implementing the Central Bank of Nigeria’s February 10 deadline for the swapping of the old naira notes with the new ones.

The judgement followed a motion ex-parte on behalf of three northern states Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara, who on February 3rd filed a suit seeking to halt the implementation of the CBN’s policy.

On Wednesday (today), the apex court adjourned a hearing in the suit banning the use of the old naira to Wednesday, 22nd February 2023

In fulfilment of his promise to prioritise workers welfare, Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, has approved the payment of one month outstanding salary arrears to workers in the state.

According to the State Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development, Mr Akintunde Oyebode, Local Government and state workers will receive one month salary arrears by Monday.

The payment, according to the Commissioner, followed Governor Oyebanji’s directive that the outstanding workers’ salaries be paid from time to time based on available resources.

The Biodun Oyebanji administration will continue to prioritise workers welfare within available resources. This include timely payment of salaries, deductions and pensions as well as provision of conducive office environment and trainings to enhance their productivity.

Pensioners in Otun-Ekiti, Moba Local Government Area of Ekiti State have appealed to Governor Kayode Fayemi to pay their outstanding entitlements before the end of his tenure on October 16, 2022.

Pensioners, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria on Wednesday, lamented their conditions after retirement.

They said some of their colleagues who retired between 2014 and 2019 had died without collecting their entitlements.

One of the pensioners, Taiwo Ajayi, a retired principal, appealed to Fayemi to consider the plight of the ageing retirees who needed to take care of their health and also their children.

He lamented that he retired in 2016 but the state government had not paid him any entitlement.

Another retired civil servant, Bukola Owolabi, said it was unfortunate that many of her colleagues who retired in 2015 had died from illnesses.

Owolabi expressed regret that the departed died without enjoying the fruits of their labour because of the unending delay in the payment of the pensioners’ gratuities by the state government.

She appealed to Fayemi to offset the outstanding gratuities and pensions before the end of his tenure.

She said: “It always saddens me whenever I remember that some of my colleagues with whom I retired in the same year have died.

“None of them was able to eat the fruit of their labour after serving the state government for 35 years in office.

“They died untimely deaths with little or no financial assistance from anybody as some of them had stroke, hypertension, diabetes, ulcer, typhoid among ailments before they finally died.

“I appeal to our Governor, Dr. Fayemi, to have mercy on some of us that are still alive and give us our gratuity.”

Olusegun Agunbiade, a retired local government employee, urged the state government to consider the fact that the retirees spent 35 years of their lives contributing to the development of the state and pay all outstanding gratuities.

Agunbiade said that he retired in April 2017 but had friends who retired since 2015, but had died without getting their entitlements.

He also appealed to Fayemi to save the lives of pensioners still alive but needing money for medicals and other upkeep.

He said: “It is no longer news that ageing pensioners are dying without collecting their gratuities.

“I appeal to our governor to pay arrears of gratuities and put smiles on our faces.”

Another pensioner, Felicia Ojo, a retired teacher, said she retired in 2016 and has not been paid her gratuity.

Ojo also appealed to the state government to consider the sufferings of pensioners and pay the backlog of their entitlements.

NAN.