Naira crisis: Tinubu, Adamu, APC Govs ask Buhari to respect Supreme Court order

OBIORA IFOH, Abuja Bureau Chief and

COMFORT EKELEME, Business Editor

 

Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, members of the Progressives Governors Forum, and the national chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to obey the lawful order of the Supreme Court halting the currency swap policy of the Federal Government.

 

Addressing the media after a meeting in Abuja on Sunday, Senator Adamu said that the programme is causing a lot of hardship to Nigerians hence their call on the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele to respect the Supreme Court order on the cash policy.

 

He said, “I’m sure you are quite aware of the fact that a meeting comprising of APC governors was held today (Sunday) and the leadership of the NWC of our great party was summoned for this afternoon and we had a discussion and at the end of the discussion, we have resolved as follows and this resolution is without prejudice or whatsoever to the case that is lying at the Supreme Court at this point. This has to do with the issue of currency redesign.

 

“We note very seriously that the programme and its implementation are causing tremendous difficulties to the people of Nigeria and the national economy. That we urge the Attorney General of the Federation and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria to respect the Supreme Court  order of Interim injunction which is still subsisting

That the meeting is urging His Excellency, Mr. President to intervene in resolving issues that are causing this great difficulty to the economy.”

 

Adamu, who refused to explain the presence of the presidential candidate of the party, Tinubu at the meeting, however, said that the governors and the party are on the same page.

Also speaking, the chairman of the Progressives Governors, Abubakar Badaru on the outcome of the meeting said, “Once the chairman spoke, the governors and the party are the same. And I am very proud of the conduct of our campaign by our presidential candidate

“Director General of the campaign and indeed, governors and the candidate across the country have been doing a tremendous job of mobilizing the Nigerian populace and we are very, very impressed with the support of the majority of Nigeria.

Twelve APC governors and two deputies were present at the meeting. Governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa), Bello Matawalle (Zamfara), Simon Lalong (Plateau), Mai Mala Buni (Yobe) were among the governors at the meeting.

 

The APC national chairman had summoned the meeting to discuss issues related to the campaign, the naira crisis and next Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections.

 

Our correspondent reports that security was beefed up in and around the secretariat as the closed-door meeting is ongoing.

In his welcome speech during the opening session, Adamu said, “I am happy with the response so far. And it is my understanding that more of the governors are on their way coming. You will recall the recent development that has necessitated the need for this invitation.

 

“We do not want to seat in the judgment of anybody or bodies with regards to what is going on today in the country as it affects our great party. I thought the best to do is to get all those who are holding forth in critical positions in the party to get together and have some interactions so that we can have a better interpretation and appreciation of the situation that we are in. That is the essence of this invitation.”

 

Some APC governors had filed a suit against the Federal Government over the naira redesign policy.

The Supreme Court ordered the CBN not to implement the deadline but Godwin Emefiele, CBN governor, said there was no need to shift the deadline.

 

Buhari had also partially complied with the court as he ordered an extension of the deadline for N200 notes and declared that old N500 and N1000 notes were no longer legal tender.

This triggered a nationwide outrage. Governors of the ruling party joined those who criticised Buhari over the issue.

While Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State had alleged that the naira redesign policy was aimed at truncating Nigeria’s democracy, his Kaduna counterpart, Nasir El-Rufai, asked residents to disregard Buhari’s directive.

Governors Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa) were among those who declared that old N500 and N1000 notes were still legal tender in their states.

Meanwhile, Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State escalated his battle with President Muhammadu Buhari on the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN’s Naira redesign policy on Sunday when he directed government ministries, departments and agencies, MDAs, to ensure that their collection agents continue to accept payments made in all denominations of the currency, both old and new.

 

The latest affront came via a tweet on his confirmed Twitter handle, @elrufai, on Sunday, titled: “KADUNA UPDATE: In line with the subsisting order of the Supreme Court, the Kaduna State Government has directed its ministries, departments and agencies to ensure that their collection agents continue to accept payments made in all denominations of the Naira, old and new.”

 

The tweet followed an earlier order by the Kaduna State Government also on Sunday directed its agencies to continue accepting old and new Naira notes for payments in the state.

It insisted that the order was in line with the subsisting order of the Supreme Court on the currency according to a statement issued on by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Communication, Muyiwa Adekeye.

 

The statement read: “In line with the subsisting order of the Supreme Court, the Kaduna State Government has directed its Ministries, Departments and Agencies to ensure that their collection agents continue to accept payments made in all denominations of the naira, old and new.

 

“The laws of Kaduna State do not allow personnel of government agencies to be involved in cash collection of revenues. The collection agents authorised by state government agencies do offer citizens a route for cash payment, and are expected to comply with the subsisting court order.”

 

Daily Champion recalls that El-Rufai, on Thursday, declared that the old N500 and N1,000 notes remain legal tender in the state.

In a state broadcast, he enjoined the people of Kaduna State to continue spending the old N500 and N1,000 notes, adding the denominations are still legal tender in the state until the Supreme Court pronounces otherwise.

 

The governor noted that the address by President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday morning limiting the legal tender status of old notes to only N200 was a total disregard and disobedience of the Supreme Court ruling on February 8, 2023, which was extended further on Wednesday by the apex court till February 22.

 

El-Rufai has spearheaded a battle against the Federal Government deadline on the deposit of old Naira notes insisting that the order of the Supreme Court made on February 8 should be respected.

 

President Buhari had last Thursday said only N200 notes would now be allowed to be legal tender along with the new N1000 and N500 notes.

 

Meanwhile, a Nigerian finance and security expert in Diaspora, Mr. John Akinmurele says the Federal Government Naira redesign policy is good, except for the time of its implementation.

Akinmurele said this on Sunday while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the hardship being faced by Nigerians over the policy implementation.

The expert who is based in Canada said the feedback Diasporan Nigerians were getting over the policy implementation was worrisome and called for concerns.

He expressed disapproval of the unprecedented queueing Nigerians had been subjected to as well as violent protests inside banking halls and in some cities.

 

“Mr. Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) claimed that the naira redesign is to help security agencies fight banditry and insurgency. He said that the policy will help the country move toward a cashless policy, reduce inflation, eliminate corruption, and reduce poverty.

 

“These points ordinarily ought to justify a need for currency redesign.

However, the much that Nigerians have witnessed so far in the implementation had clearly shown that it is either the policy was not well thought out or deliberately circumvent for a whatsoever ulterior motive,” he said.

According to Akinmurele, currency redesigns, as it is done in other climes, should be seamless, economically enhancing, and associated with ecstasy and national pride.

 

“Currency redesign is not a strange practice in almost every country of the world including the developed ones where it is a periodic exercise.

“For instance, the ascension of King Charles III as the Monarch of England may cause currency redesign in some Commonwealth countries.

 

“It is, therefore, expected that the Naira redesign policy should be a well-thought-out exercise having in mind that the informal sector in Nigeria is significant. It ought to have been a well-advocated and simplified exercise so as to be cleared of all manners of ambiguity, misinterpretation and political colouration,” he said

Akinmurele appealed to the government to rejig the implementation of the policy to make it easy for people to access. their money while calling for calm among the citizens.

 

Customers decry banks’ inability to dispense old N200

Similarly, some customers of various banks in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have decried the inability of most banks to dispense the old N200 notes in spite of President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive.

 

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Buhari had on Thursday directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to allow the re-circulation of the old N200 notes into the economy.

Some of them who spoke to NAN in Abuja on Sunday alleged that banks were sabotaging the efforts of the CBN and the government toward actualising the currency swap policy.

 

Mr. Tunde Ade, a bank customer, appealed to banks to stand up to their responsibilities to enable the policy to work effectively.

”I went to my bank in Central Area to get some money for the family upkeep during the weekend but to my surprise, both the banking hall and the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) were not functioning.

 

”I was told by other customers there that the bankers and security men locked themselves inside the banking hall and refused customers from coming in. This is not fair on customers. If not for anything, they should release the N200 notes and start dispensing them to customers as directed by the president.

 

”I heard that First City Monument Bank (FCMB) is the only bank that issued the old N200 to customers but they said they have exhausted the ones they have,” he said.

 

Another customer, Mr. Elvis Idika, commended Buhari for the directive on the re-circulation of the old N200 notes.

Idika said the directive would help to ease the suffering of the masses.

 

”I guess the president gave the directive because from what we have seen online, the people that hide monies only do that with the N500 and N1,000 notes. This is very commendable and we hope it will ameliorate the sufferings that people are currently facing,” he said.

 

Also, many bank customers over the weekend expressed frustration as banks in Abuja remained under lock and key while their Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) were not dispensing cash.

 

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) observed that the premises of most banks in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had customers hanging around hoping to get some cash.

 

Some of the customers relied on an unsigned statement, purportedly from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), authorising Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to open shop during the weekend to attend to the cash needs of their customers.

The apex bank, however, denied giving such an order.

A customer at a bank in Central Area, Sanni Abbas, decried the scarcity of cash and the insensitivity of the DMBs.

“The banks are so insensitive. What stops them from opening shop today, and loading their ATMs with cash? We do not even know who to blame between the CBN and the DMBs.

 

”If the apex bank has supplied cash to any bank and they are refusing to supply their customers, such a bank should be sanctioned,” he said.

 

According to Muhammed Sule, another bank customer, the CBN will need to make example of one bank to serve as a deterrent.

“At a time like this, the banks should understand that it is their social responsibility to ensure that Nigerians do not suffer unnecessarily.

If the CBN is supplying the banks with the newly redesigned Naira and the old N200 notes, the situation should have been ameliorated by now.

 

“If the banks are failing in their responsibility to dispense available cash, the apex bank should step in by withdrawing the licences of such erring banks, ” he said.

NAN reports that the CBN’s Naira redesign policy and phasing out of the old N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes had been met with resistance across the country due to the scarcity of the new Naira notes.

President Buhari, however, stepped in on Thursday when he authorised the CBN to continue to accept the old N200 banknote as legal tender for additional 60 days, till April 10.

Buhari, who said this through a national broadcast, however, said that the old N500 and N1,000 notes had been phased out and would no longer be accepted as legal tender.

 

He said that the additional 60-day concession was a result of the difficulty faced by Nigerians in accessing the redesigned Naira notes.

According to him, the new monetary policy was not meant to punish Nigerians.

He said that it was designed to mop up huge currencies outside of the banking system into the system to deepen financial inclusion and also protect the Naira.

 

The president said that there was a need to restore the statutory role of the CBN to have control over monies in circulation.

 

“In 2015, currency in circulation was only N1.4 trillion. The proportion of currency outside the banks grew from 78 per cent in 2015 to 85 per cent in 2022. As of October  2022, currency in circulation had risen to N3.23 trillion, out of which only N500 billion was within the banking system, while N2.7 trillion remained permanently outside the system, ” he said.

According to him, since the policy was introduced, N2.1 trillion of the currency outside of the banking system has been returned to the system. He directed the CBN to intensify collaboration with anti-corruption agencies to check the activities of individuals and groups bent on frustrating the smooth implementation of the currency redesign policy.

 

He called on the apex bank to ensure that any institution or person found to be sabotaging the implementation was made to face the law.

”I am not unaware of the obstacles placed on the path of innocent Nigerians by unscrupulous officials in the banking industry, entrusted with the process of implementation of the new monetary policy.

”I am deeply pained and sincerely sympathise with you all over these unintended outcomes.

”To stem this tide, I have directed the CBN to deploy all legitimate resources and legal means to ensure that our citizens are adequately educated on the policy.

”I have similarly directed that the CBN should intensify collaboration with anti-corruption agencies. Any institution or person found to have impeded or sabotaged the implementation should be made to bear the full weight of the law,” the president added.

 

Meanwhile, Dr. Samuel Nzekwe, a former President of, the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), has advised the protesters across the country against destroying governments and bank properties.

Nzekwe gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Ota, Ogun.

The Ex-ANAN president noted that such steps would only have adverse effects on infrastructural development in the country.

He spoke while reacting to recent protests by angry protesters as a result of a cash crunch across the country.

Nzekwe said destroying government properties like the apex bank buildings and banks property by violence was not the best solution as this act sometimes leads to unnecessary loss of lives.

“Protesting and destroying government properties would not bring solution but people need to be calm and exercise patience for the federal government to address the inadequacy of funds in the circulation,” he said.

He said destroying government properties was like taking the nation backward because such properties would be rebuilt with tax prayers’ money.

Nzekwe appealed to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to make concerted efforts to inject more small denominations like N200, N100 and N50 into circulation for the masses to attend to their immediate needs.

He said that a situation where people go to the banks and do not get money would only lead to confusion and worsen the crises in the country.

“We are urging the apex bank to devote time in printing the old N200 and other new notes into circulation to ameliorate the hardship of the common man,” he said.

Nzekwe said that the Federal Government and the CBN meant well for the masses but unfortunately, sabotage frustrated the new notes policy

 

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