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Senior Nigerian political figures have asked President Muhammadu Buhari to order the Central Bank to print more new naira notes or allow the new and old banknotes to run simultaneously, to ease the cash scarcity.

That request came from the council of state - a body comprised of top government officials, former presidents and heads of state.

Nigeria's Supreme Court suspended the government’s deadline of Friday to stop using old notes, but the country’s Attorney General appealed and the case is set to continue on 15 February.

In November, Nigeria’s Central Bank redesigned the 200, 500, and 1,000 naira banknotes aimed at curbing soaring inflation, cash hoarding and counterfeiting.

However, the limited supply of the new banknotes has meant that Nigerians have had difficulties accessing cash at commercial banks and ATMs which has caused mob attacks in some banks and protests in parts of the country.