Category: Lead

• Speaker, El-Rufai, senior lawyers, others fault  president’s decision on  N200 old notes as an affront

President Muhammadu Buhari came under fire yesterday for flouting the Supreme Court order on the validity of N1,000, N500 and N200 as legal tenders.

Senior lawyers and civil society slammed the President for spurning the injunction in his broadcast.

They said the President showed utter disregard for the separation of powers by overruling the highest court in the land.

The President announced that only the old N200 note will remain in circulation until April 10.

He said: “To further ease the supply pressures, particularly to our citizens, I have given approval to the CBN that the old N200 bank notes be released back into circulation and that it should also be allowed to circulate as legal tender with the new N200, N500, and N1000 banknotes for 60 days from February 10, 2023, to April 10, 2023, when the old N200 notes cease to be legal tender.”

The pronouncement is contrary to the Supreme Court order that N1,000 and N500 notes remain legal tender.

A civil society group, the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), described the directive as a breach of democratic norms.

Last Wednesday, the Supreme Court, in a case by Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states, barred the Federal Government, acting through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) or any other agent, from enforcing the February 10 deadline for the use of old naira notes.

In a unanimous ruling by a seven-member panel, led by Justice John Okoro, it held that the “interim injunction” stopping the phaseout of N1,000, N500 and N200 will subsist “pending the hearing and determination of the plaintiffs/applicants’ motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.”

On Wednesday, the court said the injunction remained in force.

Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) Babatunde Fashanu, Femi Falana and Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa said the President’s pronouncement was contemptuous.

Also, the Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL), Dr Monday Ubani and a lawyer, Jesutega Onokpasa said the President showed utter disregard for the separation of powers by overruling the Supreme Court.

But, an Abia lawyer, Emperor Ogbonna, was of the view that the President acted in the national interest.

Fashanu said: “The President’s address that N500 and N1,000 notes are no more legal tender is in utter violation and disregard of the Supreme Court order to the contrary. 

“The pronouncement is ill-timed and is not only in contempt of the Supreme Court, but it is also in total violation of the constitutional provisions on separation of powers between the executive, legislature and the judiciary. 

“It is an affront to the independence of the judiciary. 

“Here, the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court, makes an order and the president openly flouts it. It digs at the very essence of democracy. 

“It is also a bad example for the populace because even the common man may draw strength from it that it is alright to disobey court orders. 

“In a democracy, the President is not above the law and the Supreme Court is the åaw when it comes to who has the last say in respect of any law, be it the Constitution or any statute like the CBN Act in issue.”

Falana, Chair of Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 and Beyond (ASCAB), said President Buhari ruled out old N500 and N1,000 notes as legal tender “contrary to the clear and unambiguous order of the Supreme Court”.  

He added: “With respect, the decision of the President to exclude old N500 and N1000 notes from the legal tender of Nigeria is of no legal effect.

“It constitutes a contravention of Section 287(1) of the Constitution which provides that ‘the decisions of the Supreme court shall be enforced in any part of the Federation by all authorities and persons, and by courts with subordinate jurisdiction to that of the Supreme court.’”

Falana recalled that in 1983, the Supreme Court had faulted President Buhari for suspending a public officer while his case was pending.

In setting aside the purported dismissal, the Supreme Court berated the Buhari-led military junta in the case of Garba vs. Federal Civil Service Commission (1998) 1 NWLR (PT 71) 449 at 453 – 454. 

Justice Kayode Eso held: “Such action (dismissing the appellant from office during the pendency of the action) is contemptuous of the judiciary…”

Falana added: “In view of the foregoing, we urge the Federal Government to comply with the order of the Supreme Court without any further delay. 

“After all, President Buhari says loudly that he has since become a converted democrat.”

Falana also urged the government to address the naira crisis by “issuing the old currency notes to the banks to issue to the public in a matter of days”. 

“Unless firm action is taken, this crisis will get worse in the days to come,” the SAN said. 

For Adegboruwa, President Buhari is in contempt of the Supreme Court by his national broadcast.

He argued that by purporting to vary the highest court’s order that all the old notes should continue to be legal tender, the President committed “executive rascality.”

The SAN slammed President Buhari for attempting to “overrule the Supreme Court of Nigeria.”

He noted that despite claiming his administration’s “respect” for the rule of law and admitting in his speech that “the subject matter is before the courts and some pronouncements have been made”, the President still disregarded the order in part. 

Adegboruwa said: “The President cannot overrule the Supreme Court of Nigeria. There is a separation of powers in a democracy.

“Under Section 235 of the 1999 Constitution, the Supreme Court is the final authority in legal pronouncements in Nigeria.

“Under Section 287(1) of the Constitution, the President is statutorily obliged to obey, enforce and give effect to the decision of the Supreme Court.”

The senior lawyer said the President’s broadcast “is sad for our democracy”.

He added: “Since he already admitted that the matter is sub-judice, the President should not have proceeded to vary the order of the Supreme Court.

“The President and indeed the executive should not give the impression that citizens can brazenly disregard lawful orders of any court, as that will only encourage anarchy and lawlessness.

“It amounts to executive rascality and brazen disregard and contempt of the Supreme Court for the President to separate the denomination of the old notes for legality. 

“It is not open to the President to choose which portion of the order of the Supreme Court that will be obeyed.”

Adegboruwa advised President Buhari to retrace his steps. 

“The President should reverse his directive and add the N500 and N1000 old notes, failing which the Supreme Court should overrule the directive of the President on February 22 when the case comes up,” he added

Dr Ubani, a former Ikeja Branch Chairman of the NBA, said the President’s pronouncement “is in clear contempt of the Supreme Court’s earlier order”.

According to him, the President should have allowed the judicial process to run through. 

“His intervention, though well-intended as posited by some economists, sends a dangerous signal in our democracy. 

“The international community is watching, seeing how much we mess our system up. It is ill-advised…

“The President erred in law to have subtly overruled the Supreme Court’s express order. It is contemptuous of the Supreme Court order simplicita. 

“Let us not be carried away that he grudgingly permitted old 200 naira notes to continue to be circulated till sometime in April this year. 

“He has breached the Supreme Court order by that announcement. For me as a lawyer, it portends grave danger in our legal system.”

Ubani said the old 200 note and the new currencies “should as matter of urgency be made surplus in the system to stem unrest and the prevent chaos being experienced all over the country”.

Onokpasa argued that the President cannot sit “as a court above the Supreme Court”.

He said: “The Supreme Court’s order restored things to the status quo ante, therefore absolutely all denominations remain legal tender till the court says otherwise.

“What President Buhari has done in his truly weird and most unbelievable national broadcast is to seek to sit on appeal over a Supreme Court order!

“It is not up to him or the CBN to pick and choose which denominations are legal tender – the Supreme Court says all are legal tender.

“It is not up to the government or anyone else, for that matter, to pick and choose what parts of a court order to obey.

“By insisting only the ‘old’ 200 naira notes, and not its 500 and 1000 naira counterparts, are legal tender, our President is most rascally attempting to exercise extrajudicial review over a pronouncement of the Supreme Court.

“That is as brazenly illegal as it gets and it is now our very President, himself, performing unconstitutionality and machinating anarchy in our country! This is just too irretrievably shameful.

“Truth is, regardless of Mr. President’s patently illegal dictats, the position of the law, as it stands, is that absolutely all denominations are legal tender.

“It is the constitutional obligation of Mr President to enforce the law, as such, or he is violating his oath of office.”

The CDD, established in the United Kingdom in 1997 as an independent, not-for-profit organisation, in a statement by its Director, Idayat Hassan, urged President Buhari to reverse the directive.

The statement reads: “The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) closely followed the Thursday morning broadcast by President Buhari on the crisis caused by the implementation of the Naira redesign and cash swap policy.

“The high point of the broadcast was the President’s approval of the recirculation of only the old N200 bank notes, alongside the redesigned notes till April 10, 2023.

“We note, with grave concern, the President’s decision to, unfortunately, take steps contrary to the position of the Supreme Court on a case concerning the policy; this is sub-judice.

“The apex court’s ruling on the implementation of the redesign policy is that the old notes remain legal tender until the court gives a final verdict.

“It, therefore, amounts to a flagrant disobedience and violation of the orders of the highest court in the land for the President to carry on as if the ruling of the Supreme Court is of no effect.

“CDD is convinced that this is an egregious affront to the rule of law and the principle of separation of powers.

“In a constitutional democracy, which is anchored on the rule of law and separation of powers, the President’s action amounts to an unconstitutional power grab, which degrades our democracy.

“President Buhari’s decision has dire consequences for the 2023 general elections, which are less than 10 days away.

“Observers from all over the world are in Nigeria to witness the elections and report on the growth of the Nigerian democracy.”

“This flagrant side-stepping of the Supreme Court’s decision does no good for our nation, the elections and the democracy we have collectively nurtured over the last 23 years. 

“The President has no authority whatsoever to override any court in the land, talk less of the Supreme Court.

“CDD, therefore, calls on President Buhari to immediately purge himself of his unconstitutional overarch and align himself with the ruling of the apex court.

“For a government with a history of routinely disobeying court orders, this goes beyond the fine details of policy preferences.

“It is about respect for the courts as critical institutions, which stand as pillars of our democracy, whether their verdicts sit well with the government or not.

“With less than 120 days to the end of the President’s second and final term in office, we believe this is a clear opportunity for President Buhari to loudly show his support for the rule of law, and live up to the promise he made to the Nigerian people to be a reformed democrat.”

But, Ogbonna holds a slightly different view. He said the President rather saved Nigeria from impending anarchy.

The lawyer said: “What the President did was necessary to save the anarchy that the country was going into. 

“CBN cannot be bound by that order upon which it was not joined as a party. CBN knows that you cannot initiate contempt proceeding against it when it was not given a fair hearing and not a party to the suit. 

“Filing a suit without joining the CBN is creating anarchy. 

“The President as the Commander and Chief has a duty to make a pronouncement, even though it is the CBN that makes pronouncements on the fiscal policy of the country.

“It is now for the CBN to save the country from anarchy by validating what the President said, that only the old N200 note is legal tender because it is only the CBN that determines what is legal tender. 

“What the President just did was to cure the problem created by the suit.

“President Buhari cannot commit contempt of court because he has immunity. 

“Although you can say that the President is the head of government, his office is different from the Federal Government of Nigeria. 

“What the President did is different from what the suit before the Supreme Court is all about. 

“The suit is for February 10, while the President extended the validity of the N200 note till April. 

“The President has a duty to govern. He cannot fold his hands and see the country degenerating into anarchy because of the policy of the Federal Government or the CBN.”

Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has foreclosed the possibility of the Group of Five (G-5) governors reaching a last-minute truce with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and the party’s national leadership under Dr. Iyorchia Ayu.

The governor spoke yesterday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

He denied that the G-5, who he said were fighting for justice, equity and fairness in the PDP, were working at cross-purposes.

Wike said the “Integrity Group” was intact and that its members would make their impact felt during the presidential election on February 25.

The PDP plunged into crisis during its national convention in May last year following the emergence of former vice president Atiku as presidential candidate.

Atiku defeated 12 other aspirants, including Wike, to clinch the ticket.

Wike and four other governors – Seyi Makinde (Oyo); Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia) and Samuel Ortom (Benue) – demanded the stepping aside of Ayu as condition to join the PDP Presidential Campaign Council (PCC).

The G-5 governors argued that Ayu must yield his position to a southerner in the spirit of equity and justice within the opposition party.

They argued that this would correct the “regional imbalance” in the party since Atiku and Ayu are from the North.

The aggrieved governors have turned down every reconciliation move because of Ayu’s retention as the party’s national chair.

Wike, according to a statement signed in Port Harcourt by his Special Assistant, Media, Kelvin Ebiri, said no G-5 governor had so far attended the PDP presidential campaign in their respective states.

He said the timeframe for resolving the grievance of the G-5 was “over” and he was “not ready to sit down with anybody again”.

On the possibility of an eleventh hour parley, the governor said: “We can’t do that again. It is over. We have said it and there is nothing anybody can do about it now. They believe that they have won the election, so they don’t need us. I am not ready to sit down again with anybody.”

The governor said persons who chose to ignore the G-5 and other members of the Integrity Group would soon realise their “grave mistake” after February 25.

Wike, who said he had no apology for hosting the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and other leaders of the party in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, declined to mention his preferred presidential candidate.

According to him, PDP leaders in Rivers State had already taken a position on whom the state’s electorate would vote for and that the decision had been communicated to party supporters ahead of next week’s election.

Speaking on the PDP national leadership’s decision not to hold its presidential campaign in Rivers, the governor claimed that members of the state’s PCC lacked organisation skill.

Wike also addressed President Muhammadu Buhari’s broadcast on the new naira notes scarcity, saying Buhari’s insistence that the old N500 and N1000 notes ceased to be legal tender was interference with a pending lawsuit.

The governor stressed that the president’s directive to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to reintroduce only the old N200 note into the economy was an affront to the Supreme Court.

“As far as I am concerned, this is a complete interference, which is not good for our democracy,” he said.

The governor described as hypocritical the Federal Government proposing an out-of-court settlement with aggrieved states, while at the same time, undermining the outcome of the pending suit before the apex court.

Wike insisted that the apex court’s interim injunction subsisted and must be respected by the Federal Government.

Wike said: “Until that is done, there is nothing anybody can do about it. The issue of N200 naira in circulation is neither here nor there. If they had pulled out of court, then the President could come in. Having not pulled out of court and the interim order still subsists, we should obey it to the letter.”

He reasoned that the Federal Government’s claim that the naira redesign policy would curb corruption and vote buying was untenable, describing the implementation as political.

A war of words broke out between Wike and Atiku’s supporters over Wednesday’s visit of former Lagos State Governor Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to the state for his presidential campaign rally.

Members of PDP PCC in the state criticised Wike for receiving Tinubu in the council chamber of the Rivers State Government House, despite being a member of an opposition party.

But the state Commissioner for Information and Communication, Chris Finebone, defended the governor, saying he remained a leader of PDP.

Speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila yesterday faulted the disregard for the Supreme Court ruling by the Federal Government, warning that Nigeria cannot afford economic disaster induced by the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN), naira swap policy.

He also flayed the CBN for insisting on the phasing out of the higher denominations of the old naira in spite of “three conditions precedent for the apex bank to recall existing notes”.

The Speaker spoke hours after President Muhammadu Buhari met with CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele and the Ado-Doguwa-led House of  Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Naira Re-design before jetting out to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

At the meeting, Buhari directed the CBN  to take notice of the recommendations of the ad-hoc committee to rectify identified problems with the new monetary policy.

Gbajabiamila, in a statement, said:  ”It is not to the benefit of our country for the Federal Government to act in ways that suggest a wanton disregard for the rule of law. It will be better for us to strictly adhere to the court’s order in this matter, pending the adjudication of the substantive suit.”

The Speaker warned that “the ongoing devastation of livelihoods is bound to have consequences long after this difficult moment has passed.”

He wondered whose ”interest is served by persisting in this erroneous course towards an unfolding economic disaster that the country cannot afford.”

Gbajabiamila said: “It is disheartening that the CBN has resolutely refused to admit error and change course in the face of mounting evidence that the implementation of this policy has been a devastating failure.

“Today, citizens and visitors are experiencing grave and unnecessary hardship across our country. They spend hours and days queuing at banks and teller machines to receive stipends of their own money to afford life’s necessities.

“This situation is a consequence of the flawed implementation of the naira redesign policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). It is also the result of decisions made by the Central Bank’s Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, to refuse counsel, be guided by precedent or abide by the decisions of superior courts.

“There are three conditions precedent for the  CBN  to recall existing Naira notes. The first is that the permission of the President must be obtained, and the second is that reasonable notice shall be given. The third is that the Central Bank of Nigeria shall pay the face value of the recalled currency upon receipt.

“Whereas reasonable people may disagree as to whether sufficient notice was given for the implementation of this policy, it is evident that the  CBN  has failed woefully in its statutory obligation to pay the face value of the recalled currency in the form that is useful to the citizens whose current suffering could have been avoided.”

Describing Buhari’s directive to the CBN to recirculate the old  N200 note till April 10 as  ”a step in the right direction,” the Speaker added that “the decision still falls short of the order of the Supreme Court that the old currencies remain legal tender.”  

*Dogowa: politicians  need  cash for elections

Politicians need money in “hardcopy” to carry out their activities during elections, Doguwa has said. 

He argued that there is “a clear-cut provision in the Electoral Act which provides for the amount of money needed for every political office holder to take during campaigns.”

According to him, the President “is expected by law to have N1 billion” and a  member of the House of Representatives  ”more than N70 million.”

Dogowa told reporters after the meeting with Buhari and Emefiele that the statutory amount was required for   logistics and payment of polling agents.

Dogowa, who is also the House Majority Leader, explained that the meeting was to bring Buhari up to date on the “problems of implementation and unintended consequences” of the CBN cash policy.

Acknowledging the “far-reaching quality of the President’s broadcast to the nation earlier yesterday, he said the Legislature and the Federal Government were on the same page.

He,   however, added that more needed to be done to remove the “hardship and inconveniences” that have attended the implementation of the policy.

The lawmaker said although most of what they wanted to discuss with the President, especially the extension of the validity of the old N200 notes, had been taken care of in the nationwide broadcast, there was a need to do more.

His words: “Now that the President has issued a directive, how do we ensure that it is being carried out?   This is what we came to iron out today (yesterday).

“No matter how professional a policy is, it is counter-productive if it induces suffering in Nigerians.”

On the President’s comment on vote buying, Dogowa replied that no member of All Progressives Congress (APC) or even the opposition plans to induce voters with money.

Recalling that he had once said the cashless policy was targeted at the ruling party, Doguwa claimed that it has already “placed us at a disadvantage.”

His words:  “On vote buying, like you said, I want to tell you without any equivocation that Dodogwa you know; who has won election seven times and that I proudly belong to the ruling APC (All Progressives Congress), no one of us in the APC and I believe people in other parties is out to buy votes.”

“But you must also take into cognisance that there is a clear-cut provision in the Electoral Act, which provides for the amount of money needed by every political office holder to take during the campaign.

“A member of the House of Representatives is expected by law to have more than N70 million to conduct his election activities, logistics and other things. N70 million naira cash by law. 

“A presidential candidate is expected to have at least N1 billion by law. The law has provided us with the amount of money we need to oversee our election process. You need to pay your agents in the villages where you don’t have an ATM (Automatic Teller Machine), in the villages where you don’t have POS, in the villages where absolutely, you don’t have new naira notes.

“So, this is money that I require, that the law has permitted me to have N70 million for logistics, I need to have it in hardcopy.

“ As I speak to you, I don’t have it and this means if this policy continues this way, if the CBN  fails to make available this money, definitely every candidate, no matter what party he belongs to will be put at disadvantage.

“Don’t forget the point I  made as a partisan comment r that the policy in itself is a policy that is apparently against the ruling APC because Nigerians that are not happy will look at it as a policy of the government of APC. This has placed us at a disadvantage already.”

Buhari, according to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity,   Garba Shehu, insisted that the policy has short and long-term benefits.  

He described the policy as “very good, security-wise” as seen from the lessening of kidnappings and associated corrupt practices. 

*Emefiele orders banks to begin circulation of N200 notes  

 Emefiele told the reporters that he met with 15 commercial bank banks and called on them to commence payment of the hitherto withdrawn N200 notes to their customers as directed by Buhari.

He also assured that the apex bank would before the end of this month ensure that between N700 billion and N800 billion in different denominations were in circulation.

But as of yesterday afternoon, commercial banks had yet to circulate the   N200 notes. 

The CBN boss said: ”I have met with about 15 banks this morning and we’ve given them directives about how they should make all the old N200 available, effective today(yesterday) and I can assure Nigeria that this will help to reduce the pains.

“We meet with bankers at least once daily, to get feedback and the rest of them and I think we should just allow this policy to work. The temporary pains are regrettable, but I can assure Nigerians that it will be well.

 ”The truth is that we are all servants. We are serving Nigerians. As far as we are concerned the Attorney-General of the Federation has spoken on this matter and the President has sealed the whole issue this(yesterday) morning in his broadcast.

“Nigeria must go cashless. It is a global policy, checking insecurity and fighting corruption”.

But in Lagos, a top official of a bank in    Ibeju-Lekki Lagos was seen by The Nation informing customers that they did not open for business because they had no cash to disburse.

“We did not open for business today because there is no cash to pay customers. Not even N200 notes. You remember the situation in Edo State where some bank branches were attacked.

“We do not want that to happen to us. We can only open when the CBN gives us cash,” he said.  

Many other banks that opened did not pay both the N200 old notes as well as the new N200, N500 and N1000 new notes. They, however, offered skeletal services mainly transfers, internet banking, and activation of ATM cards and hard tokens.  

Governor Nasir El-Rufai yesterday said the N1,000 and N500 notes will remain legal tender in Kaduna State in line with the Supreme Court order.

He urged residents to disregard President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive that only the old N200 will be in use until April 10.

In a state broadcast, El-Rufai, whose state was among those who filed a suit at the Supreme Court and secured an injunction against the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), assured the people that no one would lose their old N1,000 and N500 notes.

The governor blamed those who lost out in the All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries for being behind the policy, which he emphasised has brought untold hardship on the people.

El-Rufai also accused the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), of misleading the President.

The governor said: “My dear of people of Kaduna State, with the foregoing revelations, it is clear that our peaceful coexistence as a state, and a nation, is being placed under deliberate danger using the intentional combination of fuel and cash supply disruptions.

“These evil people using the instrumentality of the Federal Government and the President as convenient covers are willing to truncate our democracy because they have personally lost out.

“They are massively deploying resources and tools to defeat the political party that gave us the platform to serve the country just because they could not impose the candidates of their choice. Let us not help them

“Let us stay calm and peaceful, and support the lawful means being utilised to solve our problems. 

“On behalf of the Kaduna State Government, I wish to assure you that none of you would lose the money you have in old notes. Let no artificial and illegal deadline frighten you.

“Whether you live in towns, villages or in our isolated rural communities, do not feel stampeded to deposit your old notes in the banks. Hold on to them. 

“Continue to use them as legal tender as ordered by the Supreme Court of Nigeria. No deadline can render them worthless, ever. The law is on your side.

“The Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007 and the Bills of Exchange Act, both oblige the CBN to recognise your old notes and give you value in new notes whenever you bring them to the CBN, even in the next 100 years.

“Therefore, as your governor, I wish to assure you that the Kaduna State Government, in collaboration with elected legislators, traditional institutions, elected local government councils, markets, and traders associations will help you collect, record, document, collate and deliver all your old notes to the Kaduna branch of the Central Bank on your behalf into the new ones immediately after the elections.

“We will also ensure the delivery of your new notes to your various locations without any hardship or expense on your part. We shall save you any panic and the stress of a long journey from your community to the CBN office in our state capital, from March until December 2023 if need be.

“For the avoidance of doubt, all the old and new notes shall remain in use as legal tender in Kaduna State until the Supreme Court of Nigeria decides otherwise.

“I, therefore, appeal to all residents of Kaduna State to continue to use the old and new notes side by side without any fear. The Kaduna State Government and its agencies shall seal any facility that refuses to accept the old notes as legal tender and prosecute the owners. If need be, we shall take further consequential actions according to the law.

“While urging you all not to fall for these antics of the enemies of Nigeria, please be patient and continue to exercise resilience in the face of open provocation and deliberate disinformation.

“We encourage you to be ready with your PVC to vote in the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections. We are doing all we can to ensure that it is peaceful, orderly and hitch-free.

“I appeal to you to understand the shenanigans of these unpatriotic elements in Abuja and ensure you vote massively for the intended victims of these last-minute policies of needless hardship and incitement of the citizens – our party, the APC and its candidates in all the elections.  

“The Kaduna State Government is making this appeal and taking all these measures to shield our people from the terrible consequences of the currency redesign policy. 

“We seek to protect our people’s hard-earned money, their ability to engage in trade and exchange and buy what they need.”

“We also seek to protect their civic rights, liberties and freedoms under a democratic dispensation. 

“I call on the people of Kaduna State to remain peaceful and vigilant in the face of brazen attempts to engineer a crisis in order to get a pretext for unconstitutional or undemocratic actions.

“Our Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has asked me to convey his greetings, empathy and words of encouragement to the good people of Kaduna State.

“He urges us to remain patient, pray for our country and remain vigilant in our pursuit of Renewed Hope. Thank you all for listening. God Bless Kaduna State. God Bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

El-Rufai insisted that the naira redesign policy was a plot by power brokers to ensure APC’s failure at the poll.

He said: “It is important for the people of Kaduna State, and indeed Nigeria, to know that contrary to the public pronouncements and apparent good intentions, this policy was conceived and sold to the President by officials who completely lost out in the Gubernatorial and Presidential Primaries of the APC in June 2022.

“Once Asiwaju Bola Tinubu emerged as the candidate in June 2022, and subsequently did not pick one of them as his running mate, this currency redesign policy was conceived to ensure that the APC presidential candidate is deprived of what they alleged is a humongous war chest.

“They also sought to achieve any one or more of the following objectives: (a.) Create a nationwide shortage of cash so that citizens are incited to vote against APC candidates across the board resulting in massive losses for the Party in all the elections; (b.) Ensure that the cash crunch is so serious, along with the contrived and enduring fuel shortage existing since September 2022, that the 2023 Elections do not hold at all, leading to an Interim National Government to be led by a retired Army General; (c.) Sustain the climate of shortage of fuel, food and other necessities, leading to mass protests, violence and breakdown of law and order that would provide a fertile foundation for a military take-over;

“In the pursuit of these objectives, the CBN and these other disgruntled Federal officials have so far convinced the President that it is fine for ordinary citizens to be dispossessed of their hard-earned money and starved if need be, while small and medium-sized businesses are deprived of access to their capital, thereby bringing trade and exchange to a grinding halt.

“All our efforts to modify the implementation of the policy to avoid what we assumed were unintended consequences were unsuccessful.

“I chose to speak out first as one person that has been particularly close to the President, believing that his actions were motivated by innocence, and mindful of his legacy. 

“I have no regrets for doing my duty in this regard. One day, the President will appreciate what some of us are being insulted for today.”

The governor added in the broadcast: “On behalf of the government of Kaduna State, I wish to express my deepest regret at the needless suffering you are enduring as a result of the prolonged fuel shortage and the difficulties occasioned by the so-called ‘currency redesign’ policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria. We understand your pain. 

“I assure you that as your State Governor, I have been working with my other colleagues to do everything in our power to end these pains.

“While publicly supporting what appeared to be a beneficial policy, we innocently engaged privately with the President and the leadership of the Central Bank of Nigeria to review the implementation of the policy so as to reduce its negative impact on the lives and livelihoods of our people, and end the pain being inflicted on citizens. 

“In the absence of any progress to modify implementation on the part of the architects, we were forced to go public about two weeks ago, with our concerns and demand that this suffering must stop.

“We take seriously our duty to protect ordinary people from the consequences of these policy fiascos. The sad fact is that the victims of these mindless policies are the people that elected us. 

“It is their welfare that is being threatened. Many of our people have been left in a situation where the money they put in banks has literally been confiscated, depriving them of the ability to buy food and basic necessities. 

“Our traders cannot sell as much as they used to because their customers have no access to their hard-earned money.

“We have been officially informed that the currency redesign policy is to reduce money laundering and render useless stashes of high denomination Naira that many politicians and public officers have accumulated through corruption and other illicit activities. As earlier stated, we are fully in support of such a policy and we made this public from the beginning.

“We had privately expressed concerns about the timing of the currency design policy and the unrealistic timeline for its implementation. 

“We were assured that all steps have been taken to ensure that we avoid the recent experience of India, where implementation of a similar demonetisation policy targeted at politicians ended up hurting the poorest and small businesses the most.

“In official briefings to the President, the Central Bank of Nigeria constantly alluded to the fact that the policy also targets politicians who have accumulated a huge war chest for vote buying during the elections. 

“It is now clear that the President has been deceived by the Central Bank of Nigeria and some elements in his government into buying into this overarching narrative, in the name of ensuring free and fair elections in 2023.

“Yet, the politicians that the officials have convinced the President to regard as the real targets of the currency redesign policy have not been impeded in any way by it so far. 

“Indeed, two of the presidential candidates and a running mate of the opposition parties own or have preferred access to some of the licensed banks. 

“For that reason and by various clandestine arrangements, these politicians have access to hundreds of millions of these new notes, while the traders, merchants, students and other citizens are queuing for days to withdraw a few thousand Naira just to buy food and necessaries.

“Within two to three weeks of implementation, it was clear to everyone that the architects of this policy can see that it is our people that are being terribly affected and not the politicians. 

“It is quite unfortunate that many politicians who either own banks or have privileged access to money are so insulated from the pains of talakawa that they are recklessly endorsing a policy that is being badly implemented.

“I am referring here to the comments by the candidate of one of the opposition parties who expressed opposition to the recommendation first of the APC state governors, and subsequently of all the governors under the auspices of the Nigeria Governors Forum that the implementation timeline be extended, to enable the old and new notes to be legal tender side by side until the cash shortage ends.

“My dear people of Kaduna State. Let me explain how the architects of this policy intentionally designed it to fail. The total currency in circulation in Nigeria was estimated at N3.2 trillion at the end of 2022. According to the Central Bank of Nigeria, N2.1 trillion has been withdrawn as at early February. The CBN claimed that N700bn is the amount of cash needed for their functioning vision of a ‘cash-less’ Nigerian economy.

“The Chief Economic Adviser to the President, Dr. Doyin Salami disagrees with this estimate and believes at least N2 trillion of currency needs to be in circulation for our economic sustainability. Other experts variously estimate this to be between N1.2 trillion and above, so the CBN number of N700bn is not realistic.

“The CBN informed the President at the very beginning that the Mint (NSPMC) has enough capacity to print the needed currency in circulation within the 6-week timeframe for the so-called ‘cash swap’. By its own admission, only N400bn worth of new notes had been printed for CBN as at early February.

“The current cash shortage was therefore designed from the beginning, the President was lied to about the domestic capacity of the Mint to print, and even if the announced N700bn was printed, it would have been grossly inadequate anyway. 

“Imagine then printing only N400bn, and making most of it unavailable to the banks but passed to favoured entities through special arrangements. 

“How can the CBN collect N2.1 trillion from citizens and print only N400bn? Is this not a clear case of economic sabotage?

“It is bad economics to so curtail economic activity and the velocity of circulation of money. 

“It is also insensitive to deliberately cause cash shortage and then seek to instigate the public against the mostly innocent commercial banks. 

“Even the most honest and prudent action by banks cannot magically make N400bn to look like N2.1 trillion, or have the same spread and availability like the CBN should have ensured. 

“As a regulator, the CBN should not be seen to be setting up the banking sector as the public enemy to cover up the glaring failure in its design and implementation of the cash swap policy.  

“We have repeatedly appealed to the Federal Government to allow whatever remains of the old notes to circulate concurrently with the new notes. 

“We recommended that the Federal Government should also hasten to ensure that more of the new notes are printed and brought into circulation. 

“We thought that if the Nigerian Mint is incapable of printing the volume of cash needed as it appears, then necessary steps must urgently be taken to get a reliable supply source.

“There is no reason why the old notes and the new notes should not coexist until the old notes are gradually withdrawn over the years as is done in the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and other countries. 

“It is unfortunate that in implementing this policy, Nigeria is departing from global best practise, without any compelling justification. 

“The Kaduna State Government did all these, not in opposition to any person or authority, but because we stand with our people and their interests.

“When it was clear that our recommendations will not be seriously considered, the Kaduna State Government decided, along with the governments of Kogi and Zamfara States to declare a dispute with the Federal Government. 

“In line with the provisions of the Constitution, we approached the Supreme Court of Nigeria to invoke its original jurisdiction to hear us and the cries of our people.

“The court did on February 8th, and ordered that the deadline of February 10th for all the ‘old’ notes ceasing to be legal tender be rescinded until the determination of the suit. This ruling applies to the Federal Government and its agencies like the CBN, and all commercial banks! 

“We are grateful to the Court for this ruling, and we had hoped that compliance by the CBN and the banks would bring relief to our people. 

“It is now clear that the architects of this policy are determined to continue to inflict maximum pain on the citizens to achieve their objectives outlined earlier.

“It was our hope that the Federal Government of Nigeria would welcome this injunction as an opportunity to mitigate the needless human suffering being experienced and correct its course on this matter. 

“There is no emergency situation that justifies the rushed and seemingly deliberate incompetent execution of this policy. 

“We suggested that compliance with the ruling would include adopting a whole-of-government approach, that involves the agencies of the federal and state governments in modifying the design, execution the implementation of the currency redesign policy.

“Even when confronted with the facts above, the CBN and its masters remain determined to implement their agenda no matter how much human suffering, death and destruction results. 

“It is clear that the architects of this policy always had objectives that are totally in conflict with public interest, peace and the unity of Nigeria. 

“They neither considered our suggestions in line with the Court order, nor respected the unanimous resolution of the Council of State.

“It is also quite revealing that the Federal Government and its agencies not only disobeyed the February 8th ruling by continuing to say the February 10th deadline stands. 

“It is shocking to see the blatant violation of the subsisting and continuing order of the Supreme Court that ALL the old and new notes should continue to be legal tender until it gives judgment in the case filed by the Kaduna State Government along with several others.

“The address by the President earlier this morning limiting the legal tender status of old notes to only N200 amounts to total disregard and disobedience of the ruling of February 8th which was extended further yesterday by the Supreme Court. 

“The misguided action of the Attorney-General to mislead the President into engaging in this public violation of the order of the highest court of the land shows how desperate the policy architects are to cause national chaos, by showing open contempt for the judiciary.

“The decision to recognise only N200 as legal tender till April that the President announced this (Thursday) morning was offered to the state governments as part of proposals for an out-of-court settlement three days ago.

“The Federal Government asserted that this was offered because all the ‘old’ N1,000 and N500 notes had been destroyed. We rejected the offer and proved to the officials that not a single higher denomination note had been destroyed.

“We also believe that circulating N200 only to be inadequate in alleviating the suffering that we see every day. We insisted that all the components of the Supreme Court order should be complied with.”

Ahead of next week’s presidential poll, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, wife of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Wednesday held a town hall meeting with women in Kano State where she unveiled her husband’s plan for Nigerians, particularly the women and children. There was a free flow of souls. The women told the candidate’s wife what they would want Tinubu to do for them if he is elected president. Senior Correspondent FANEN IHYONGO reports

It was a gathering of women. Senator Oluremi Tinubu, wife of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, invited them for a town hall meeting.

The prominent and the reclusive, the rich and the poor, the able and the physically challenged, wives, spinsters and breastfeeding mothers were all present. The women, drawn from the 44 local government councils of Kano State, were led by the trio of the Kano State First Lady Prof.  Hafsat Abdullahi Umar Ganduje (chief host), the state APC Women Leader, Hajia Fatima Abdullahi Dala, and the Treasurer, Yardada Maikano Bichi.

The queen of the day, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, arrived at the Aminu Kano International Airport to a rousing welcome and was driven straight to the palace of the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero.

“I am in Kano to engage women and inform them of what Tinubu and Shettima will prioritise, if elected.

“I wish to thank you for the love and support you have given to my husband. Kano is the second home of the Tinubus. Forty years ago, I stayed a whole year in Kano,” she told the monarch while paying homage.

She unveiled education, health, agriculture, security, commerce and entrepreneurship training for women as cardinal agenda of the APC, stating that women, children and other Nigerians will benefit when the sectors are reformed.

The emir of Kano told Mrs Tinubu that he too is an advocate of women inclusion in politics.

“Women play a major positive role in politics; their involvement in politics will better the development of the nation. This is because they have important role to play in the growth and progress of Nigeria’s democracy. I believe women will always gain the opportunity to occupy positions of leadership, through credible and peaceful elections,” he said, commending Senator Oluremi Tinubu for the visit.

From the emir’s palace, the next port of call was the commodious Coronation Hall of Government House, Kano.

Accompanied Tinubu’s wife to the event were wife of Katsina state governor, Hajiya Nana Kashim Shetima, wife of Deputy Governor of Jigawa state and many notable APC women leaders across the country.

Also at the occasion were Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Usman Alhaji and the Director-General of Tinubu/Shetima Presidential Campaign Support Group, Baffa Baba Dan’Agundi.

The roll call also included wives of Kano APC governorship and deputy governorship candidates, APC women leaders from the wards and local government areas, including wives of commissioners, local government council chairmen and Special Advisers, as well as wives of party leaders and key stakeholders.

The town hall meeting provided the opportunity for Mrs Tinubu to get firsthand information about the plight of women in Kano State. The visit also afforded her the opportunity to discuss and appreciate issues bothering women in the state and Nigeria at large.

This prompted her to donate 50,000 pieces of wrappers, unspecified number of bags of rice and money to the women.

Responding to demands made by women drivers in education, health, agriculture, business and entrepreneurship, during a Town Hall meeting held for women leaders, Tinubu promised that the Tinubu/Shetima administration will give women grants for economic empowerment if given the mandate by Nigerians.

“The Tinubu/Shetima administration will ensure free,  compulsory basic education for all Nigerian children, adding that they will come up with incentives that will persuade the girl-child to remain in school.

“Tinubu/Shetima will not only ensure grants and empowerment for the women, but will also come up with policies that will encourage adult education for the women,” she said.

She also spoke passionately on the need to revamp the health sector, taking into cognisance the issue of brain-drain due to the mass exodus of Nigerian medical doctors and pharmacists abroad in search of greener pastures.

Mrs. Tinubu said if voted into power, the Tinubu/Shetima administration will enact policies that will enable doctors and other health workers stay back in Nigeria and make the health sector viable so as to discourage medical tourism abroad.

“Nigerians have the best brains in the health sector, and we will ensure that Nigerian Doctors and other health workers do the best for us,” she said.

Speaking on agriculture, she reminded the gathering that Nigeria have the best weather and soil,  recalling that Lagos in partnership with Kebbi state is setting the pace in rice production.

She also said the Tinubu/Shetima administration will be very passionate in revamping the economy through creation of enabling business environment.

Tinubu’s wife commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his achievements in power and other sectors, saying the Tinubu/Shetima administration will build upon and improve on the foundation laid by the outgoing administration.

It was not the first Sen Oluremi Tinubu was visiting Kano, which she described as the second home of the Tinubus. She recalled quickly how about 40 years ago, she spent a year in Sabon Gari area of Kano, during her National Youth Service (NYSC) programme.

Mrs Tinubu said: “I stayed in Sabon Gari while doing my youth service. I enjoyed myself. I want to thank you for your warm reception. We are grateful to the North. God bless Kano. God bless the North. God bless Nigeria.”

Prof. Ganduje described Tinubu’s wife’s town hall meeting as very important and historic, not only to Kano women,  but to the entire people of Kano state.

She thanked God for bringing Senator Tinubu to Kano safely and in good health,  and recalled that on January 4, during the APC presidential rally,  Kano stood still for Tinubu for many hours, which is a testament that Kano people are fully supporting Tinubu.

She appealed to Kano women to come out en masse and vote for Tinubu/Shetima presidency on February 25.