By ignoring two interim orders of the Supreme Court, and seemingly disregarding a third final order for 10 days, President Muhammadu Buhari and the Governor of Central bank, Godwin Emefiele, ran afoul of the nation’s constitution and set a bad example for Nigerians.
The orders, pronounced over the controversial implementation of the Federal Government’s Naira redesign and swap policy, were intended to resolve intractable problems arising from the policy, and thereby alleviate the sufferings of most citizens who suddenly found themselves without cash to make transactions as basic as buying food.
It is just as well that the president and the CBN have finally heeded the court’s directive, but much damage had been done already; and even now, the problem of availability of cash for the public, which the court aimed at resolving, is yet to abate. There were enough indications that the refusal of the two prime officers of government to disobey the court for so long contributed immensely to aggravating the hardship being encountered by Nigerians. Both the president and the CBN Governor should be remorseful of their clearly wrong-headed disposition.
On December 15, 2022, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) unveiled the redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 notes. Conversely, the old versions were to cease as legal tender from February 10, 2023. Accordingly, the CBN mopped up 80% of the affected old notes but did not issue a corresponding amount of the new notes. To further monitor the money outside the banking system, it imposed a daily/weekly cash withdrawal limit for both individual and corporate entities.
Rather than resolve the identified monetary problems, the Naira redesign policy turned out to be a greater problem mainly due to poor planning and implementation. The entire country was plunged into cash crisis as Nigerians could not access their funds in the bank.
Worse still, e-payment channels proved unhelpful as they could not withstand the pressure from voluminous transactions. For the first time in the history of the country, Naira was openly and exorbitantly traded for Naira. Evidently, the Central Bank failed to put the necessary structure in place and conduct quality assurance test before launching the policy.
Despite the untold hardship caused by the policy, and the consequential nationwide protests resulting in several deaths; the CBN had remained resolute without providing any practical solution. Dissatisfied with this apathetic disposition, some ‘concerned’ governors approached the President for a remedy but met with a brick wall. Unrelenting, the Governors of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara resorted to judicial resolution.
Accordingly, the Supreme Court, on February 8, 2023, temporarily restrained the Federal Government and its agents, including the CBN and commercial banks, from enforcing the stated February 10 deadline. It further ordered that both versions of the Naira notes remained legal tender until the substantive suit was dispensed with.
However, President Buhari, in his national broadcast on February 16, 2023, practically overruled the Supreme Court, insisted the old N500 and N1,000 notes were no longer valid and directed the CBN to only reissue and re-circulate only the old N200 Naira notes (along with new N500 and N1000 notes, which were however gravely scarce) until April 10, 2023. Noteworthy is that the CBN had earlier defied the Supreme Court when it created a three-day window (from February 15 to 17) for the deposit of the old 200, 500 and 1,000 Naira notes.
Having missed the opportunity to proffer a political solution, President Buhari ought to have held his peace and allowed the law to take its due course, particularly when the Federal Government was a party in the suit. One cannot be a judge in his own case. Unarguably, Mr. President had intended to foist a fait accompli on the Supreme Court with the sole aim of rendering its final judgment nugatory, unenforceable and a mere academic exercise.
His conduct is an affront to the principle of separation of power and a denigration of the supreme authority of the land, nay: 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Indeed, it is nothing but a desecration of the grundnorm for the President to have delved into a matter that was sub judice.
In reaction, the Supreme Court while delivering its final judgment on March 4, 2023, held as follows: “The rule of law upon which our democratic governance is founded becomes illusory if the President of the country or any authority or person refuses to obey the orders of courts.
The disobedience of orders of courts by the President in a constitutional democracy as ours is a sign of the failure of the constitution and that democratic governance has become a mere pretension and is now replaced by autocracy and dictatorship.” The court is absolutely correct, given that it was exercising its constitutional authority to determine complaints relating to the civil rights of Nigerians, as presented by governors representing the people.
Nullifying the Naira Redesign and Cash Withdrawal Policies, the Apex Court held that the Federal Government ought to have consulted widely with the relevant stakeholders given the magnitude and far-reaching implications of the policy on the governance, economic and social order of each constituent of the Federation. It then held that it is the inherent right of each constituent unit to be consulted before execution of the policy otherwise, “the Federation will lose its sovereignty and the President becomes the sovereign; and the Government of Nigeria a dictatorship.”
It further reasoned that the government should have adapted the practice in other climes where such policies are preceded by prior preparations over a period of time and the population are informed and educated on the processes well in advance.
While observing that the Federal Government omitted to address its inability to print adequate new naira notes to meet the demands of the people, which was the crux of the matter, the Supreme Court, ordered the President to “direct the recirculation of the withdrawn old 200, 500, 1,000 Naira notes and the two versions should continue as legal tender till December 31, 2023, by which time the redesigned ones would have been printed enough to completely replace all the old notes.”
This verdict should have put a final stop to speculations regarding the fate of old naira notes, but for the seeming disregard by the president and the CBN Governor.
Unfortunately, the judgment was met with zero-compliance across the federation, ostensibly stemming from the preemptory, contemptuous broadcast of the President. When queried on this issue, Mr. Abubakar Malami, the Attorney Generation of the Federation (AGF), simply retorted that he cannot advise the Federal government on monetary policies as the same is beyond his purview.
Further emboldened by this impunity, the CBN via a Press Statement stated that: “The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria has been drawn to some fake and unauthorised messages quoting the CBN as having authorised the Deposit Money Banks to collect the old N500 and N1, 000 bank notes.
For the avoidance of doubt, and in line with Mr. President’s broadcast of February 16, 2023, the CBN has been directed to only reissue and re-circulate the old N200 bank notes.” The apex bank’s statement is audacious and outrageous. It is sacrilegious for the CBN to place the judgment of the Supreme Court of the land underneath the feet of the President!
The fact that the Apex Bank only shifted ground after it was berated by the Presidency does not portray good omen for the country’s democracy. The presidency’s blame of the CBN was clearly face-saving, and the CBN’s subsequent reaction was feeble, for damage control.
Its Press Release of March 13 (ten days after the Supreme Court’s final ruling, reads: “In compliance with the established tradition of obedience to court orders and sustenance of the Rule of Law Principle that characterised the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, and by extension, the operations of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as a regulator, Deposit Money Banks operating in Nigeria have been directed to comply with the Supreme Court ruling of March 3, 2023”. The actions of the CBN are deserving of judicial rebuke and possibly sanctions.
Why must it even wait for the admonition of the presidency before obeying the court? Besides, the present federal administration has no credible or inspiring record of respecting unfavourable court orders; hence CBN’s distortion of facts is unacceptable.
It cannot be over-emphasised that the orders of any court of competent jurisdiction are not debatable – they are meant to be obeyed! It is contemptuous for a party to even express an intention to comply with such orders as what is expected is outright and immediate compliance! The instant judgment became binding on, and enforceable against, the Federal Government and its agents, on the very day it was delivered. Their initial defiance stripped the judgment of its executory value.
Sadly, the Executive’s action was capable of bringing the Supreme Court into public disrepute and lowering its reputation before the entire world.
Despite its abhorrent pre-compliance notice, the CBN has yet to effectively match its words with actions as the cash crunch still rages on. Until the unconstitutional daily/weekly Cash Withdrawal Limit is scrapped and the nation is restored to the position where Nigerians can spend their money as they will, the Federal Government and the CBN remain in material default of the judgment of the Supreme Court.
