The failure of the President Muhammadu Buhari and the Central Bank of Nigeria to make a categorical Statement on the Supreme Court Judgment which extended the Legal Tender validity of the old 200, 500 and 1000 Naira Notes is responsible for the current cash crunch and confusion being experienced in the system.
This was the conclusion of discussants and panelist on the Journalists Hangout Sunday Special on TVC News on Sunday afternoon.
Chris Kehinde Nwandu who led the discussion on the issue said he made allusion to the fact that the President may refuse to obey and implement the judgment by the Supreme Court on the Naira Redesign and Currency Swap.
He added that as a law graduate , he sees what the President is doing as a dangerous signal.
He said the Buhari administration has shown that he has a penchant to disobey Court orders right from the start of his administration in 2015.
He expressed disappointment that the Central Bank of Nigeria and President Muhammadu Buhari have shown no sign at all that they will obey the Supreme Court order.
He said the fact the Central Bank has come out to controvert an earlier directive it allegedly gave for banks to accept and put the old Naira notes into circulation is a sign that Nigerians will continue to suffer unnecessarily.
According to Mr Nwandu until the President made his controversial broadcast directing the use of the Old 200 Naira notes, Nigerians were accepting the 500 and 1000 Naira Notes.
He said the broadcast was a complication which made it impossible for many Nigerians to access basic services or keep their Businesses afloat.
He described the conduct of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Attorney General of the Federation as like that of someone who is completely not concerned by the judgment of the Supreme Court on the Naira Redesign and Currency Swap policy.
He added that the Policy has succeeded in killing a lot of businesses.
For his part, Babajide Kolade-Otitoju, said the situation in Nigeria is so bad that compared to other parts of the World would have led to serious crisis but for the resilience shown by Nigerians on the issue.
He pointed at the example of the French revolution and the Sudan overthrow of Gafar Nimeri that were both caused by the increase in the price of bread.
According to Kolade-Otitoju, the thinking behind the Policy was to prevent a certain individual from winning the Election, he asked rhetorically if the pushers of the move are God.
Going Further, he said his account officer in the bank said no new notes have been brought to his branch in over three weeks.
They said the President’s action is a deliberate act designed to inflict hardship on Nigerians towards achieving a certain aim.
They challenged the President to explain what Tradermoni will be called and how many traders who received it have returned the money.
Source: TVC