The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari must respect the other arms of government for the country’s democracy to thrive.
The group in a statement said the Supreme Court has the power to give order on monetary policy which can also be binding on the executive, but berated the president for going against the judiciary.
The director of administration and programmes, CACOL, Tola Oresanwo, said, “In the last couple of weeks, Nigerians have been facing the reality of scarcity of cash.
“Our banks are overwhelmed by angry customers demanding money, the ATMs are flooded with furious Nigerians struggling to withdraw cash, and some spend the whole day hoping to get a few Naira notes to pay bills.
“POS operators complain of lack of money; a few have charged between 15% and 20% to customers to get some cash.
“But to make matters worse, President Buhari in his recent speech to the nation illegalizes the N500 and N1,000 notes despite the Supreme court ruling extending the period the notes can be in circulation.
“The Supreme Court can make pronouncement even on the President or whatever policy that emanates from the executive and because the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is part of the executive, any pronouncement from the Apex court relating to the monetary policy of the land in particular and the CBN in general must be obeyed to the latter.
“The presidency is fast turning itself to the Judiciary. Since the pronouncement has ordinarily extended the period with which the old naira notes could be used, the president doesn’t have to review it pending the ruling of the Supreme Court.
“What the president has done is tantamount to contempt of court which is a kind of impunity and it is a precursor to rule of the thumb instead of rule of law.”
