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Isaac Shobayo – Jos
The Middle Belt Forum (MBF) has described the noncompliance of President Muhammadu Buhari and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, with the Supreme Court judgment as an invitation to anarchy and called on the governors in the geopolitical zone and entire Nigeria to comply with the judgment to alleviate the suffering of the people.
According to the Publicity Secretary of the Forum, Dr Dogo Isuwa, the cash crunch occasioned by the redesign of the Naira notes has thrown the country into financial confusion and subjected Nigerians to untold hardship, which has crippled many businesses.
Dr Isuwa told Nigerian Tribune that the continued silence of President Buhari and Emefiele to the Supreme Court judgment constitutes an abuse of the judicial process and a lack of respect for the rule of law, which the President has sworn to uphold, and wondered what would be the reaction of the government if an ordinary Nigerian should disobey the judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction.
“Unfortunately, neither Buhari nor Emefiele has said anything concerning the Supreme Court judgment, but Nigerians are waiting for Buhari or Emefiele to say, “Accept N500 and N1000 notes or not,” because no other institution has the power to make this announcement more than the government and the CBN.
“When the federal government has cases, don’t they go to the Supreme Court? Assuming they go to the Supreme Court and the judgment is passed, won’t they comply with the judgment?
“I am saying on behalf of the MBF that I am calling on all the governors and institutions to comply strictly with what the Supreme Court has said and use the old naira notes accordingly. By this, I am also saying that it is wrong for all the banks not to comply with the judgment and wait for the CBN to pass information before they do.”
He pointed out that they cannot be sanctioned for complying with the Supreme Court judgment.
“If they comply and the CBN does anything funny, they have the right to take the CBN to court. So there is no reason why any bank should refuse to comply. There is no reason why any institution should refuse to comply with what the Supreme Court has said.”
He, therefore, called on all the governors of the 36 states, including Abuja, to comply with the judgment, adding that any institutions like companies that refused to comply should be sanctioned and their business premises should be closed with immediate effect.
“And I think that the state governors should find time to go around and ensure strict compliance. Nigeria should not be illiterate enough to wait for Emefiele or Buhari’s pronouncement; everyone looks up to the Supreme Court as the final arbiter. It is an act of illiteracy not to comply with the Supreme Court’s judgment.
“There is hardly any state in the country that doesn’t have a local security outfit if the conventional security agencies refuse, and the governors should use local security to ensure strict compliance. It is shameful that civil society has kept quiet, and I believe civil society must occupy CBN in this regard until they comply.
“The Middle Belt Forum is saying this to avoid anarchy. People who trade in common things are suffering, and those who sell perishable things, their goods are getting rotten. There are cases of people being stranded simply because they don’t have the cash to move from one place to another. Those who depend on day-to-day activities to eke out a living are finding it difficult to survive. Allowing this is an invitation to anarchy,” he said.
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