Sunday Ejike – Abuja
The Federal Government is yet to react to the judgment of the Supreme Court revalidating the old N200, N500, and N1000 notes until December 31, 2023.
In a judgment on Friday, the apex court had ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to allow both the old naira notes and the new ones to circulate side by side till the end of the year.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim on behalf of the seven-member panel of Justices of the court, the court voided and set aside all the directives issued by President Muhammadu Buhari in respect of the naira re-design and circulation on grounds of illegalities and abuse of executive powers.
The court held that the President’s demonization directive is inconsistent with the law’s provisions.
The apex court took a swipe at President Buhari for disobeying its interim order of February 8 to the effect that the old naira notes of N200, N500 and N1000 denominations be allowed to be in circulation.
Justice Agim held that the President exhibited and took the disobedience to the highest peak with his broadcast of February 16, allowing only the N200 notes.
The court held that the rule of law in which the democracy of the country is founded will become a misery if the President refused to obey the court’s order.
When Sunday Tribune contacted Dr. Umar Gwandu, the media aide to the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN), to respond on behalf of his principal, he did not pick up his call. He did not respond to the text and WhatsApp messages sent to his phone until this report was filed.
It would be recalled that sixteen state governments had challenged the Federal Government at the apex court on the controversial naira re-design and cashless policy.
The sixteen states led by Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara are praying the Apex Court void and set aside the policy on the ground that it is inflicting hardships on innocent Nigerians
They accused President Muhammadu Buhari of usurping the function of the CBN in the introduction and implementation of the policy and asked that the directive issued by Buhari be voided.
On its part, the Federal Government challenged the jurisdiction of the Apex Court on the grounds that the CBN was not joined as a party and that the dispute on the policy ought to be directed at the CBN so that the suit can be referred to the Federal High Court.
In the unanimous judgment prepared and delivered by Justice Agim on behalf of the seven-member panel of Justices, the apex court dismissed the preliminary objection raised by the defendants against the suit of the plaintiffs.
According to Justice Agim, the directive of the President to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the amount of money for withdrawal by individuals and corporate organizations is invalid.
He said the Federal Government failed to make adequate provisions before embarking on withdrawing the old naira notes and introducing new ones.
The Apex Court held that President Muhammadu Buhari breached the Constitution in the ways and manners he issued directives for re-designing the naira by the apex bank.
The Court held that the President acted ultra vires by his glaring failure to consult with the National Council of States, Federal Executive Council (FEC), and the National Economic Council (NEC) before directing the CBN to unlawfully introduce new naira notes.
The court held that President Buhari’s unconstitutional use of powers on the naira re-design has breached the fundamental rights of Nigerian citizens in various ways.
The Apex Court said such use of powers by President Buhari is not permitted under democracy and in a plural society like the Nigerian nation.
Among others, the Supreme Court held that the President’s unlawful use of executive powers inflicted unprecedented economic hardship on the citizens by denying them ownership of their monies and access to the money.
