
President Muhammadu Buhari has reintroduced the old N200 note, claiming that it is an overturning of the Supreme Court’s decision that old notes remain legal tender.
In a speech on Thursday, Buhari directed the CBN to recirculate old N200 notes until April 10, while old N500 and N1000 notes will no longer be accepted by Deposit Money Banks.
The former Lagos NBA chairman, who appeared on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, said the development demonstrates the current administration’s regard for court orders.
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“There was an interim order that says there should be a stay of action until all grievances are looked at because unfortunately many other states are joining the suit, and the Supreme Court saw the wisdom in giving room for other parties to join so that there will be proper parties before it before going ahead to look at the issues on their merit,” he said.
“However, what the president has done this morning is to ignore whatever is going on at the Supreme Court.
“If you say you’ll only allow old N200 to circulate, that means old N500 and N1000 are no longer legal tender.” My interpretation of what has happened is that he has overruled the Supreme Court. With what he’s just done, he’s clearly not paying attention to what’s going on at the Supreme Court.
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“I am not too happy with what has happened this morning in terms of the president overruling the Supreme Court. We are not displaying democracy to the rest of the world. It is not an appropriate precedent.”
“If you cannot obey your court orders, how do you instill confidence in the international community to come into your country to make investments? Is there a court decision that can be followed within your country in the event of a dispute? We are not sending the right signal.”
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