The Presidency has on Monday speak on, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has no reason not to comply with the Supreme Court order on the new naira notes redesign on the excuse of waiting for directives from President Muhammadu Buhari.
A statement issued by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu said, the President never told the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami; and the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele to disobey any court orders involving the government and other parties.
It had been reported that the Supreme Court had on the 3rd of March ordered that the old N200, N500 and N1000 notes remain valid till December the 31st, 2023. After 16 states of the Federation instituted a suit to challenge the legality or otherwise of the introduction of the policy.
The 16 states led by Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara had prayed the apex court to void and set aside the policy on the ground that it is inflicting hardships on innocent Nigerians.
The court subsequently ruled that the President’s disobedience of its 8th February order is a sign of dictatorship. Adding that Buhari breached the Constitution of the Federation in the way he issued directives for the re-designing of the Naira Notes by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
After the March 3rd judgement by the Supreme Court, the Presidency, Central Bank of Nigeria and the Attorney General of the Federation kept mum, throwing Nigerians and bank customers into confusion as the ruling of the apex court contradicted the directive of the President on February 16th that, the old N500 and N1000 notes are banned and old N200 notes remain valid till April the 10th 2023.
Meanwhile, the Presidency broke its silence on Monday, saying the President never told the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Attorney General of the Federation not to obey the order of the apex court.
“Following the ongoing intense debate about the compliance concerning the legality of the old currency notes, the Presidency therefore wishes to state clearly that President Buhari has not done anything knowingly and deliberately to interfere with or obstruct the administration of justice.
“The President is not a micromanager and will not, therefore, stop the Attorney General and the CBN Governor from performing the details of their duties in accordance with the law. In any case. it is debatable at this time if there is proof of willful denial by the two of them on the orders of the apex court,” the Presidency stated.
The statement noted that the President is an absolute respecter of the rule of law and that the “negative campaign and personalized attacks against the President by the opposition and all manner of commentators is unfair and unjust”.
“As for the cashless system, the Central Bank of Nigeria is determined to put in place. It is a known fact that many of the country’s citizens who bear the brunt of the sufferings, surprisingly support the policy as they believe that the action would cut corruption, fight terrorism, build an environment of honesty and reinforce the incorruptible leadership of the President.
“It is therefore wide off the mark to blame the President for the current controversy over the cash scarcity, despite the Supreme Court judgement.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has no reason not to comply with court orders on the excuse of waiting for directives from the President,” the statement added.
By Safrat Gani
