CBN, obey Supreme Court judgment
Louis Brandeis, a former associate justice of the Supreme Court of United States of America once said, “Our government… teaches the whole people by its example. If the government becomes the lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy.”
The government of a nation serves as an example to her inhabitants. Many atimes the attitude of the government is often used to profile her citizens. Already, Nigeria and her citizens have been stigmatised globally with corruption and fraudulent activities, we shouldn’t give the global community another opportunity to slander our nation but instead provide avenues to make our nation proud amongst her peers.
The recent failure of the Presidency and the Central Bank of Nigeria to abide by the decision of the Supreme Court of Nigeria will only WORSEN even more the image of the country.
A seven-member panel of the Supreme Court led by John Okoro last week Friday, March 3, unanimously directed that the CBN must continue to receive the old notes from Nigerians. The Supreme Court extended the validity of the N200, N500, and N1,000 Naira notes till 31 December, 2023.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had last year introduced this controversial monetary policy that led to introduction of redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 notes with tight deadline to mop up the old notes from circulation. Some state governments like Kaduna, Zamfara, Kogi among others have however challenged this policy at the apex court due to the difficulty it has imposed on the people.
The policy has led to scarcity of currency notes, bringing untold hardship to millions of citizens in an economy significantly driven by the informal sector with a large proportion of unbanked persons.
The Supreme court held that the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari for the redesign of the new notes and withdrawal of the old notes without due consultation was invalid and wrong.
According to reports, Emmanuel Agim, a member of the panel, who read the lead judgement, also condemned the President’s disobedience of the court’s February 8 order that the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes should continue to circulate alongside the new ones.
He said the President’s broadcast of 16 February that only N200 notes should remain legal tender made Nigeria’s democracy look like a mere pretension while democracy is replaced with autocracy.
The court said, “It is not in doubt that the President refused to comply with the order of the court that the old 200, 500, and 1,000 naira notes should continue to be legal tender.
“Interestingly, there is even nothing to show that that the President’s directive for the release of N200 notes was implemented. I agree that the first defendant ought not to be heard when the president has refused to obey the authority of this court.
“Disobedience of order of court shows the country’s democracy as a mere pretension and now repalced by autocracy. This suit is meritorious,” the court said.
Interestingly, Nigerians have continued to reject old naira notes as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is yet to address the country, despite Supreme court order. Nigerians have reacted this way going by the precedence of President Muhammadu Buhari and the Central Bank of Nigeria to abide by the previous judgment of the highest law Court in Nigeria.
This action in itself has made many Nigerians perceive that the President is higher than the law and is supreme over the law which is not meant to be. Nigeria is a democratic state that practises the principles of the rule of law. As per Prof. A.V.Dicey, “the rule of law means the absolute supremacy or predominance of the regular law as opposed to the influence of arbitrary power and excludes the existence of arbitrariness or even of wide discretionary authority on the part of the government.”
It’s high time President Muhammadu Buhari owned up to his promise to Nigerians to uphold and abide by the rule of law. President Muhammadu Buhari should address Nigerians and also direct the Central Bank which claims to follow only the orders of the President to abide by the judgement of the Supreme Court and thereby ease the hardship occasioned by the policy on Nigerians.
Moreso, as a nation seeking to attract more foreign direct investments, our disposition to obeying court orders can be a detriment or a favour to us when investors are selecting where to invest. President Muhammadu Buhari and the Central Bank of Nigeria should obey the Supreme Court if they truly have the interest of Nigerians and the economy at heart.
