A civil society organisation, Centre for Reform & Advocacy, says All Progressives Congress governors for countering the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari on the new naira note is treason.
Recall that the President had said in a broadcast on Thursday that the old N500 and N1,000 notes had ceased to be legal tender while the old N200 should remains in circulation till April 10.
But some APC governors, spearheaded by Nasri El-Rufai of Kaduna, asked residents of their states to ignore the directive and continue to use the old notes.
However, the CSO in a statement by its legal adviser, Kalu Agu, said, “Arising from the provisions of the law, can the Central Bank of Nigeria on its own volition call for legal tender redesign and deadline for the use of old legal tender without the approval of the President? The answer with respect is a no! How then will the governors be issuing contrary directives on the use of old naira notes when they do not have such powers either donated to them by the 1999 Constitution, Acts of the National Assembly or even a law from their states’ House of Assembly?
“The contrary directives issued by the governors that the old naira notes should continue to be a legal tender in their various states when the President had through the CBN issued a directive in that respect are treasonable, unconstitutional, unlawful, illegal and highly inciting.”
Dr Yusuf Ahmed-Datti, the vice presidential candidate of the Labour Party had also in a recent press briefing described El-Rufai’s counter order as treason.
The Kaduna governor had in a broadcast on Thursday asked Kaduna residents to ignore Buhari’s order, saying the old Naira notes remained legal tender.
CHECKPOINTCHARLEY 