Buhari returns the ball as Nigerians struggle with lack of cash

ADELANI ADEPEGBA writes about Muhammadu Buhari's regime's reluctance to obey the Supreme Court's order on the legal tender status of old naira notes and how it ultimately succumbed to public pressure

Ten days after the Supreme Court extended the legal tender status of the old N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes until December 31, the Central Bank of Nigeria reluctantly announced that it was complying with the late judgment. Monday evening statement.

He added that the decision was taken at a meeting of the bankers' committee in accordance with "the established tradition of obeying court orders and upholding the rule of law". The directive marked the end of the incalculable hardship that Nigerians have faced over the past three months.

But the arrogant defiance of the supreme court's order and the insensitivity to the hardship occasioned by the ill-considered and poorly implemented policy of overhauling the naira marked a terrible ending to the eight-year regime of Muhammadu Buhari.< /p>

Apparently inspired by the president who over the years has shown complete disregard for court orders despite claims to the rule of law, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, resisted public pressure, ignored pleas and also despised threats of contempt charges in open resistance to reason and the law. The CBN's late action on the Supreme Court judgment is the icing on Buhari's disrespect for court orders.

During the three-month battle with CBN policy, there was a severe shortage of cash across the country, leading to riots, destruction of businesses and property and the death of many citizens.

Commercial banks have not been able to cope with the demands of the crisis. An increase in failed payment transactions in February led to a 4.83% drop in the value of cashless transactions to 37.67 tn compared to 39.58 tn recorded in January 2023.

This came as the use of electronic payment gateways recorded a 41.29% increase month-on-month, according to new data from Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System. Claims that the economy was ready for the cashless policy turned out to be false as the banking system failed the stress test, as evidenced by the alarming increase in the number of failed transactions.

Before the barbarism caused by the CBN policy happened, the state governments of Kaduna, Zamfara and Kogi had, on February 3, dragged the federal government to the Supreme Court to challenge the policy. On February 8, the court, in its wisdom, prevented the FG from terminating the legal status of the old naira notes on February 10, as announced by the CBN.

Judge John Okoro issued an interim injunction order "restraining the Federal Government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria or commercial banks, from suspending or determining or terminating on February 10, the time frame in which the now older version of the 200, 500 and 1,000 naira denominations can no longer be legal tender pending the hearing and decision of their motion for notice of interlocutory injunction. »

The request, being ex parte, was not served on the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, who was prosecuted in the case as a representative of the federal government. Only the plaintiffs' lawyer, Abdulrakeem Mustapha, SAN, was heard by the court.

Okoro, after hearing plaintiffs' counsel, granted the request as requested, a decision he said his panel made after "careful consideration." The court, after issuing the order, adjourned until February 15 for the hearing of the main case.

At the next adjourned date, the court joined the attorneys general of Katsina, Lagos, Ondo, Ogun, Ekiti and Sokoto states as co-plaintiffs. The attorneys general of Edo and Bayelsa states have been joined as co-defendants while the case has been extended for a week until February 22.

Thinking himself to be the state and above the law, Buhari, in a February 16 broadcast, said that only the N200 note would be legal tender for the next 60 days. In clear violation of the prohibition order issued by the Supreme Court, he said that the old N500 and N1,000 notes had ceased to be legal tender and should be returned to the CBN. The order sparked widespread anger and reinforced the idea that the president has little regard for the courts.

Governors who are naturally deferential to Buhari have failed to call him a tyrant. Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has called on the people of his state to reject the President's directive.

In a counterstate broadcast, the Governor said: "The President's speech earlier this morning limiting the legal tender of old notes to just N200 amounts to complete disregard and disobedience to the February decision...