Naira Policy: Failure to obey court order, recipe for anarchy, ACF warns Buhari

KADUNA The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has warned President Muhammadu Buhari that the continued failure of the Federal Government to obey the Supreme Court order on the naira redesign is a potential recipe for the breakdown of law and order.

ACF in a statement signed by its Secretary-General, Murtala M. Aliyu, and made available to journalists in Kaduna yesterday, said 10 days is enough for government to obey the Supreme Court order towards ameliorating the suffering of the people.

The Forum said if the prevailing hardship caused by the policy of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is anything to go by, then as long-term supporters of President Buhari, it is good to warn that the much touted benefits of the naira redesign can never justify the damage to his credentials as a democrat and a stickler for the rule of law. Part of the statement entitled “Supreme Court Orders on Naira Redesign read: “Monday, the 13th of March, 2023, marks the 10th daywhentheSupremeCourt of Nigeria ruled that CBN’s Naira Redesign policy is unlawful and that its implementation should stop. “Whatever the CBN or anyone else say about the benefits of the policy, which evidently are many, is of little comfort as soon as the highest court in the country has deemed that it is, or, at least the manner of its implementation, breaches the law.

“Ten days is long enough time for the government to find its way towards complying with a court order whichimportiscentraltothe achievement of peace, order and good governance in the country. President Buhari is under oath to defend the constitution of Nigeria. As his long term supporters, it will be remiss of us if we fail to warn that the much touted benefitsof thenairaredesign can never justify the damage to his credentials as a democrat and a stickler for the rule of law. “This is quite apart from the real possibility of the crisis morphing into a serious social disorder leading to the possible breakdown of law and order throughout Nigeria. We do not believe nor can we advise him to pay such a heavy price on account of a policy whose immediate goals are not entirely clear to a majority of Nigerians.” The statement continued: “Some ten days ago, the Supreme Court of Nigeria held that the President, Muhammadu Buhari, breached the Constitution of Nigeria in the way he issued a directive to the CBNforthe redesignof the naira without consulting with the National Council of States andthe Federal ExecutiveCouncil. Itwentfurtherto rulethattheunconstitutional use of powers by the President on the naira redesign has breached the fundamentalrightsof Nigeriancitizens in various ways. “Thestategovernorshave persistently argued that the policy which permitted the CBN to place an embargo on the circulation of old N500 and N1,000 naira notes while not providing their replacement in sufficient amounts, had triggered severe cash shortage and chaos in the economy. “It has led to runaway inflation in food and other commodities. Huge crowds andlongqueuesformaround bank offices and ATM points across the country as people struggle to get the new cash which have remained extremely scarce. It has triggered riots and other forms of civil unrest.”