Human rights lawyer, Dr Monday Ubani, has criticized President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to reintroduce the old N200 notes into the Nigerian economy, describing it as an overruling of the Supreme Court order.
In a national broadcast on Thursday, the president ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to recirculate the old N200 notes until April 10, while the old N500 and N1000 notes will no longer be accepted by Deposit Money Banks.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, Ubani said, “My understanding of what has taken place is that he [President Buhari] has overruled the Supreme Court. He’s not mindful of what is going on at the Supreme Court with what he has just done.” He also criticized the move as a bad precedent, stating that it shows the level of respect the current administration has for court orders.
According to Ubani, “If you cannot obey your court orders, how do you instil confidence in the international community to come into your country to make investments? We are not sending the right signal.”
President Buhari had claimed that the redesign of the currency would help combat inflation, and corruption and improve transparency, while assuring of credible general elections in the country.
He also appealed to Nigerians for their understanding and asked the CBN to make the new banknotes more accessible.
