A lawyer and human rights activist, Professor Chidi Odinkalu, has thrown accusation of treason at Govs Nasir el-Rufai, Yayaha Bello, Abubakar Badaru and others who dragged the federal government led by President Muhammadu Buhari and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to court over the naira issue.
The three state governments took the initiative by dragging the federal government and the CBN before Supreme Court, seeking the apex court to pause the implementation of the February 10 deadline on the use of the old naira notes.
The highest court gave an injunction and earlier fixed hearing for February 15, and later February 22.
Claim that it granted the state governments’ prayer has been called into question by Odinkalu on Thursday, while speaking on The Verdict 2023, a programme aired on Channels Television.
He also said President Muhammadu Buhari has crossed no line legally.
“The Supreme Court to the best of my knowledge, has not said what people are meaning (and) presenting it as having said. Because, that is not a policy of the court, it’s a misplacement of the capabilities and assets of a court for it to get to that kind of thing. I suspect what the Supreme Court has said is preserve the status quo ante until we hear the case, status quo antebellum, which is what the thing was before the onset of litigation.
“Now, the question then becomes, what was the status quo antebellum that you are trying to preserve? And this is where the laziness of the judicial system as well as the limitations of law actually come to full view, because status quo antebellum actually, was the Central Bank circular on exactly when this thing should stop. I suspect this is the advise the President got, he has not breached anything,” the Human Rights Commission former boss opined.
The human rights activist added that in the first place,
the actions and orders of governors, countering the President’s order on the policy amounted to treason, adding that the President has exclusive authority over currency systems.
His word, “The core of a government’s credibility, national or international is three things; defence and security, foreign affairs and currency. On this matter, I think President Buhari is fighting for the last thing a government should fight for, and on that, he is well within his rights to do so.
“I don’t think it is proper for state governors to go around, issue orders countermanding a President on exactly the thing that a central government cannot negotiate – money and currency. And quite frankly, what the governors are doing in this matter, verges on treason. You cannot be telling a President to yield up his authority over currency systems, that is not negotiable at all. These are the people who quarrel Nnamdi Kanu, and they are going ahead to do the same thing? I’m sorry, that is not negotiable.”
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