The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele has capitulated to the ruling of the Supreme Court that old N200, N500 and N1000 notes remain legal tender till 31 December, 2023.
Emefiele did not yield to the apex court’s order given on March 3rd until he and the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubarkar Malami received knocks that President Muhammadu Buhari never ordered them to flagrantly violate the Supreme Court judgement.
The CBN then directed that the old banknotes remain legal tender along side the redesigned banknotes. The directive came after vilification by the Presidency.
A press statement released on Monday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, insisted that President Buhari never ordered both the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami and CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele to defy Supreme Court’s rulings.
The statement reads: “The Presidency wishes to react to some public concerns that President Muhammadu Buhari did not react to the Supreme Court judgement on the issue of the N500 and N1,000 old currency notes, and states here plainly and clearly that at no time did he instruct the Attorney General and the CBN Governor to disobey any court orders involving the government and other parties.
“Since the President was sworn into office in 2015, he has never directed anybody to defy court orders, in the strong belief that we can’t practise democracy without the rule of law and the commitment of his administration to this principle has not changed.
“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 directive of the President, following the meeting of the Council of State is that the Bank must make available for circulation all the money that is needed and nothing has happened to change the position.”
The President’s spokesman pointed out that it was an established fact that the President was an absolute respecter of judicial process and the authority of the courts, adding that he has done nothing in the last eight or so years to act in any way to obstruct the administration of justice, cause lack of confidence in the administration of justice, or otherwise interfere or corrupt the courts and there is no reason whatsoever that he should do so now when he is getting ready to leave office.
“The negative campaign and personalised attacks against the President by the opposition and all manner of commentators is unfair and unjust, as no court order at any level has been issued or directed at him.
“As for the cashless system the CBN 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 CBN has no reason not to comply with court orders on the excuse of waiting for directives from the President.
“President Buhari has also rejected the impression that he lacks compassion, saying that “no government in our recent history has introduced policies to help economically marginalised and vulnerable groups like the present administration. ‘
However, many viewed the reaction of the Presidency to the wrong implementation of the cashless policy by CBN as nothing but a way of passing the buck which failed to address the issue at stake.
What Nigerians who continue to suffer from the cash crunch which has paralysed the nation’s economy wanted is a directive of compliance to the highest court’s order.
Nigerians converge in banks daily for their trapped savings to no avail and later resort to using money to buy money.
Some POS operators sell N10,000 cash for as much as N14,000.
Banks which paid old N500 and N1000 naira notes to customers have been reported to be refusing to collect the old notes back from them.
However, Nigerians will breathe a sigh of relief as the old banknotes become legal tender once again.