Rotimi Akeredolu, the governor of Ondo state, has asked the
federal government to obey the supreme court ruling on the implementation of
the naira redesign policy.
On Friday, a seven-member panel of the apex court held that
the old N200, N500 and N1000 notes remain legal tender until December 31, 2023.
The ruling overturned the Central Bank of Nigeria’s
directive, which President Muhammadu Buhari had backed. The president had
maintained that old N500 and N1,000 notes were no longer legal tender, with
April 10 fixed as the deadline for N200.
Akeredolu, in a statement issued on Friday, said the
decision of the apex court is in tandem with Ondo state’s position on the
issue.
He said Godwin Emefiele, CBN governor, and Abubakar Malami,
the attorney-general of the federation (AGF), “misadvised” the president to
“assume powers of an emperor”.
“We salute the industry and courage of the Justices of the
Supreme Court for the well-considered ruling,” Akeredolu said.
“The CBN Governor and the Attorney General of the Federation
and Minister of Justice misadvised the President to assume powers of an Emperor
answerable only to himself and no other authorities as enshrined in the law.”
The governor lamented that small businesses are collapsing
at an alarming rate.
“We have been regaled with tales of the dehumanisation of
ordinary Nigerians who have been forced to strip themselves naked in banking
halls weeping to be given their monies kept with the banks. Some have lost
their lives, needlessly, for being unable to access their deposits in the banks
upon demand,” he said.
“The Governor of the CBN acted most irresponsibly when he
claimed to be exercising powers, which the CBN Act does not invest in his
office.
“He was quoted as saying that he was fighting corruption,
money laundering and vote-buying. He acted, ultra vires, goaded by his
political permutations.
“The AGF equally
misled the President to act beyond the limits of his executive powers.
Nigerians have been punished unduly.
“As the Supreme Court has pronounced, the law must be
allowed to rule. There are statutory functions allotted to bodies in the 1999
Constitution, as amended.”
‘LETTERS OF THE LAW
ARE SIMPLE’
If those in positions of authority embrace less mischief,
Akeredolu said, the letter of the law is straightforward and understandable.
Consequently, he enjoined the federal government “to obey
the ruling of the Supreme Court immediately as there is no other alternative
open to it”.
“We congratulate the States which challenged this obnoxious
policy implementation and hope that our banks will release the deposits of
Nigerians in their custody upon demand forthwith as there will be grave
consequences for continued seizure of the hard-earned monies of citizens,” he
said.
“There is no gain
asserting the obvious. The whole policy may have been well conceived. Its
implementation has been politically driven.
“The CBN Governor is a partisan of injustice and oppression.
Most Governments, perhaps with the exception of a negligible few motivated by
the possibility of deriving unexpressed political advantages, cannot meet simple obligations to their
citizens. It is most unfortunate.
“As we enjoin the
officials of the Federal Government who may be directly involved in putting
into effect the spirit and the letter of the Supreme Court ruling to do so
immediately, the Ondo State Government will not hesitate to proceed against
persons and institutions whose activities impede its ability to discharge statutory
obligations to the people.”
Akeredolu added that there is no justification for the pains
to which Nigerians have been subjected for “obvious political reasons”.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com