A civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), on Tuesday, slammed President Muhammadu Buhari and the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, for deserting Nigerians in the middle of the naira redesign policy introduced by the two men.

HURIWA has similarly carpeted President Muhammadu Buhari who is the senior Petroleum Minister for abandoning millions of Nigerian motorists in long fuel queues and left to be extorted by criminally-minded Petroleum products distributors and flying to Qatar to attend a totally irrelevant conference that has nothing positive to add to the near moribund national economy. The Rights group said if President Muhammadu Buhari is God- fearing and is a statesman as he claims, then he had better turned in his resignation letter immediately to stave off the imminent economic collapse of Nigeria under his watch.

HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, said it is very unfortunate and disappointing that Buhari and Emefiele remained mum more than four days after the Supreme Court ruled that old N200, N500 and N1, 000 notes remain valid till December 31, 2023.

The group said the President and the CBN Governor have left Nigerians confused with their posture and now the country was on an autopilot mood as commercial banks are directionless as to whether to follow the Supreme Court order or the declaration of the President that old N500 and N1,000 notes are no longer valid and that old N200 will stop being a legal tender on April 10, 2023.

HURIWA said like it is characteristically when two elephants fight, the grass – the masses – have suffered the brunt of the needless political wars between Emefiele and his political detractors in the ruling All Progressives Congress. The group said the sufferings of the common man have aggravated in the last few weeks as so many cannot get their hard-earned monies out of the banks to feed and attend to their needs. Daily, they queue in hundreds for hours before Automated Teller Machine outlets and yet they aren’t able to get their monies in most cases.

Last Friday, the apex court also nullified the Federal Government’s naira redesign policy, declaring it as an affront to the 1999 Constitution. The court said the policy has led to some people engaging in trade by barter in this modern age in a bid to survive.

Sixteen states, led by Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara prayed to the apex court to void and set aside the policy on the ground that it is inflicting hardships on innocent Nigerians.

The CBN had extended the deadline for the swap of old N200, N500, and N1,000 from January 31 to February 10, following complaints by many Nigerians but the Supreme Court, after a suit filed by the states, held that the Federal Government, the CBN, commercial banks, must not continue with the February 10 deadline pending the determination of a notice in respect of the issue.

However, President Buhari, in a national broadcast, directed the apex bank to release old N200 notes into circulation to co-exist with new N200, N500 and N1, 000 banknotes for 60 days — by April 10, 2023. He also said old N500 and N1, 000 banknotes ceased to be legal tender in Nigeria.

Consequently, the apex court on Friday voided the President’s declaration as well as the naira redesign deadline issued by the CBN and said disobedience of the February 8 order is a sign of dictatorship.

The statement reads in part: “The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele and President Muhammadu Buhari have sadly impoverished Nigerians with a needless naira redesign policy that they used as a political tool against their opponents.

“Alas! Nigeria is in an autopilot mood. The Supreme Court makes a judgment, President Buhari took off for a globetrotting gambit in Qatar while the CBN governor maintained sealed lips as millions of Nigerians wallow in an excruciating cash crunch.

“HURIWA demands an end to this autopilot economic and monetary policy under Buhari as it has already caused imaginary inflation.”

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