More than 10 days after the Supreme Court ordered the reintroduction of the N500 and N1, 000 notes as legal tenders, President Muhammadu Buhari and Mr. Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, have been warned of looming anarchy.
The Federal Government was yet to act on the apex court’s ruling putting Nigerians in dire straits and small and medium businesses suffering the most.
In a statement on Sunday, the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, has warned that the continuous disobedience to the Supreme Court judgment could lead to the breakdown of law and order.
The statement signed by ACF’s Secretary General, Murtala Aliyu, said the current approach of the CBN raises concerns about the respect for the civil liberties and rights of Nigerians as it relates to their freedom to use legitimately earned income as they so wish.
“Whatever the CBN or anyone else says 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,” Aliyu said in the statement.
“Ten days is long enough time for the government to find its way towards complying with a court order which is central to the 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 benefits of the Naira redesign 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,”
He, however, lamented the huge crowds and long queues formed around bank offices and ATM points across the country “as people struggle to get the new cash which has remained extremely scarce, which has triggered riots and other forms of civil unrest.”
The warning is coming on the heels of several state governments warning against the rejection of the old N500 and N1, 000 notes in their states.
Kogi, Bayelsa, Kano, Ondo, Kaduna and others have threatened to arrest anybody that rejects the old notes as well as shut down such businesses.
