On the redesign of the naira, CBN has no reason not to follow the Supreme Court’s orders.
According to the Presidency, President Muhammadu Buhari has never ordered the AGF or the CBN Governor to defy any court rulings involving the government or other parties.
On Monday, the Presidency said that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had no justification for delaying implementation of the Supreme Court’s judgement over the redesign of the naira.
Garba Shehu, the senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, claimed in a statement that the president never instructed the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, or the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, to disregard any court orders involving the government and other parties.
Old N200, N500, and N1000 notes will be legal tender through December 31, 2023, according to a ruling by the nation’s top court on March 3. This came about after a lawsuit was filed by 16 Federation states challenging the legality or otherwise of the policy’s establishment.
The 16 states, led by Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara, had asked the supreme court to nullify and set down the policy because it was putting innocent Nigerians through hardship.
READ ALSO: Governors issue an order to Malami and Emefiele on Tuesday to follow the Supreme Court
The court later found that the President’s disregard for its February 8 ruling was evidence of dictatorship and that Buhari had violated the Constitution of the Federation by giving the CBN instructions to redesign the Naira.
The Presidency, CBN, and AGF remained silent following the Supreme Court’s ruling on March 3, confusing many bank customers and Nigerians because the ruling of the top court ran counter to the President’s order from February 16 that old N500 and N1000 notes are banned but old N200 notes are still valid until April 10.
The Presidency, however, broke its quiet on Monday, claiming that the President never instructed the CBN and the AGF to disregard the supreme court’s ruling.
“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 statement reads. “Following the ongoing intense debate about the compliance concerning the legality of the old currency notes.
The President is not a micromanager and will not, therefore, prohibit the Attorney General and the CBN Governor from fulfilling the intricacies of their jobs in line with the law. In any event, it is uncertain at this point if the two of them willfully disobeyed the top court’s directives, according to the President.
The President is a staunch supporter of the rule of law, according to the statement, and the opposition’s and other pundits’ personal assaults on the President are unfair and unjust.
As for the cashless system the CBN is determined to implement, it is well known that many of the people in the country who suffer the most support the policy because they think it will reduce corruption, fight terrorism, foster an honest environment, and support the President’s incorruptible leadership.
So, notwithstanding the Supreme Court’s ruling, it is incorrect to attribute the present dispute over the cash shortage on the President. According to the excuse of awaiting instructions from the President, the CBN has no excuse for failing to comply with court decisions, the statement continued.
