NAIRA SCARCITY: Confusion reigns as Buhari, Emefiele act contrary to Supreme Court directive

The nationwide broadcast by President Muhammadu Buhari has added to the confusion Nigerians are currently battling, regarding the legal status of the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes.

The uncertainty surrounding the legal status of the higher denominations of the Naira notes began with the redesign of the Naira notes in October 2022.

It was released in December last year, with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) giving a two-month timeframe for the old currencies to cease being legal.

The initial deadline was on January 31, 2023, before it was extended to February 10, 2023. Ever since, there has been contention over the deadline, with state governments heading directly to the Supreme Court to stop the FG and the CBN from phasing out the old Naira notes.

Buhari, Emefiele drag Nigerians into a state of confusion

Last week Wednesday, the Supreme Court restrained FG and CBN from effecting the February 10, 2023, deadline, stating the old Naira notes remain legal until February 15, when the apex court decides on the lawsuit filed against the Federal Government by Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara State governments.

Three days after, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, said FG would obey the Supreme Court’s ruling and appeal during their next court appearance.

However, this week, on Tuesday, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, contradicted the Attorney General, by stating that the old Naira notes have lost their legal status, and against the Supreme court’s ruling, he said the deadline will not be extended.

“The situation is substantially calming down since the commencement of over-the-counter payments to complement ATM disbursements and the use of super-agents. There is, therefore, no need to consider any shift from the deadline of February 10,” Emefiele said.

A day after, the Supreme Court ruled again, ordering FG and the CBN from phasing out the old Naira notes. The court ruled that its order last week Wednesday still stands, and all parties should maintain status quo till February 22, 2023, when a new ruling or judgement will be made on the case.

After the ruling was publicised, some small businesses began to accept the old Naira notes, however, during his nationwide broadcast on Thursday, President Buhari snuffed out the hope that Supreme Court’s ruling had given Nigerians who still have the old Naira notes.

Buhari told Nigerians that only the old N200 notes would be circulated alongside the new version of the N500 and N1,000 – thereby ruling out the return or acceptance of the old N500 and N1,000 notes.

As a result, small businesses began to reject the old N500 and N1,000 notes, as the statement of the President held more weight to them than that of the Supreme Court due to the confusion.

Buhari, Emefiele disregarding Supreme Court order?

The President seems to contravene the ruling of the Supreme Court in his new directive to the central bank on the legal status of the old Naira notes.

READ ALSO:NAIRA SCARCITY: Vandalisation of network infrastructure affecting PoS machines, banking activities —NCC warns

Buhari’s decision to ignore the Supreme Court’s ruling follows a statement made by Attorney General, Malami, last week, that the apex court doesn’t have jurisdiction on the matter filed by the states governors.

Malami said court matters that concern monetary policy must have the central bank as a party, which he said the state governments failed to take into consideration.

“With the position in mind, we have taken steps to file our objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the matter. Jurisdiction on the ground that when you talk of monetary policy, Central Bank is an indispensable and necessary party in the matter.”

However, in a chat with a legal practitioner, Sunday Oyeyinka, he said the Supreme Court can only have jurisdiction to decide disputes between states and federal, so the CBN can’t be made party to the case.

“The law is what the court says it is. The central bank cannot be made party to this case at the Supreme Court because the supreme Court can only have jurisdiction to decide disputes between states and federal.”

He said regardless, once the Supreme Court makes a declaration, every party must obey, “The federal formulates policy and so it’s not about whether an act allow central bank to make monetary policy.

“The decision of the court has to be obeyed or else the only alternative will be trouble and unrest,” Oyeyinka told Ripples Nigeria.

Last week, a legal practitioner who chose to speak to Ripples Nigeria on condition of anonymity explained that “What has happened is that: The Plaintiffs have activated the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, that is, instead of starting the matter at the lower court, that is, the Federal High Court, they went directly to the Supreme Court which is the highest court in the country.

“This is permissible under the law where an action is instituted by a state government or some state governments against the federal government.”

The lawyer added that the ruling of the Supreme Court is superior to the directive of FG and the CBN “That is an order made by the highest court in the land and the CBN and all commercial banks are under legal duty to obey the order.”

During a visit to some banks to assess their compliance with the Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday, staff at First Bank branch located along Akute road, Alagbole, Ogun State, said the bank is not implementing the ruling because they work under the CBN, not the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, many Nigerians are at a loss as to the position of legality of the N200, N500 and N1,000 notes. This is because while they await the ruling of the Supreme Court on the deadline for the naira swap issue, the president and the CBN have issues contrary directives. Hence many businesses have stopped receiving the old naira notes.

Meanwhile some state governments have also told residents to ignore the directive from the federal government and the CBN and continue spending the old naira notes pending the judgment by the Supreme Court!

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now