President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday debunks reports that he expressly or vaguely instructed the CBN governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, and the attorney general of the federation and minister of justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, to defy the Supreme Court’s judgement on the issue of the old N500 and N1000 notes.
Recall that in December 2022, the CBN introduced new N200, N500, and N1000 notes, leading to the withdrawal of the old notes from circulation.
The policy has led to the scarcity of naira notes in circulation thereby exposing most Nigerians to severe hardship occasioned by difficulty in making cash payments for daily transactions.
On February 8, the Supreme Court issued an order restraining the CBN from enforcing the February 10 deadline for phasing out the N200, N500, and N1000 notes pending the hearing of a lawsuit instituted by three states challenging the new currency redesign policy.
On February 16, the president issued proclamation for the use of the N200 note alongside the redesigned banknotes saying the old N50 and N1000 could only be redeemed at the CBN.
Again, on March 3, a seven-man panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice John Okoro, unanimously ordered the CBN to continue receiving the old notes until 31 December due to the negative impact of the policy.
Yet, there was no compliance.
Reacting to the lingering crisis made worse by the president’s silence, his spokesman, Mr. Garba Shehu, said in a statement that it is wide off the mark to blame his principal for the current cash crisis “despite the Supreme Court judgement.”
He said the “CBN has no reason not to comply with court orders on the excuse of waiting for directives from the president.”
He said there was no time his principal instructed both the Emefiele and Malami not to obey court’s order and called on the general public to disregard such reports as the president never gave such directives.
Shehu explained that the president’s directive following the meeting of the council of state was that “the bank must make available for circulation all the money that is needed and nothing has happened to change the position.”
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 practice 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.
“It is an established fact that the president is an absolute respecter of the judicial process and the authority of the courts. He has done nothing in the last eight or so years to act in any way to obstruct the administration of justice, cause a 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.”
