APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
The report that some state governments, which sued the Federal Government on the naira redesign policy, have given the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, and the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, till Tuesday to comply with the order of the Supreme Court on the currency dominates the headlines of Nigerian newspapers on Monday.
The Punch reports that state governments, which sued the Federal Government on the naira redesign policy, have given the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, and the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, till Tuesday to comply with the order of the Supreme Court on the currency.
The state governments threatened to file contempt charges against the two top officials on Tuesday should they fail to obey the apex court which ordered that the old N1,000, N500 and N200 should be in circulation alongside the new notes till December 31, 2023.
Over one week after the court handed down the order, the AGF and the CBN have kept mum over the verdict. Their silence has emboldened Nigerians and businesses to reject the old notes as legal tender.
Saturday PUNCH reported on Friday that the Federal Government had been served with the enrolled order and Certified True Copy of the Supreme Court judgment ordering the use of old notes as legal tender for 10 months.
The counsel for Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states, which dragged the Federal Government before the Supreme Court on the matter, Abdulhakeem Mustapha (SAN), disclosed that Malami was served with the enrolled order and the CTC of the judgment on Friday afternoon, adding that he expected immediate compliance with the judgment as the non-service of the documents had given the government and the CBN an escape route.
Mustapha said, “The Attorney-General of the Federation has been served now and we will take it up from there; if there is no compliance now, we will commence committal proceedings against the attorney-general and the CBN governor.”
The newspaper says that Nigeria’s economy is grinding to a halt and has lost about N20tn following the over 70 per cent mop-up of cash by the Federal Government through the Central Bank of Nigeria, a new report by an economic think tank, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise said on Sunday.
It said the protracted acute cash scarcity had not only crippled economic activities across the country, but was now a major risk to the livelihoods of most Nigerians.
“Millions of citizens have slipped into penury and destitution as a result of the disruptions and tribulations perpetrated by the currency redesign policy, especially the mopping up of over 70 per cent of cash in the economy,” the Director, CPPE, Dr. Muda Yusuf, stated, while reacting to the currency redesign policy.
Calling for an urgent intervention by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), he stressed that “Nigerians have not been this traumatised in recent history.”
Yusuf added, “The economy is gradually grinding to a halt because of the collapse of payment systems across all platforms. Digital platforms are performing sub-optimally because of congestion; physical cash is unavailable because the CBN has sucked away over 70 per cent of cash in the economy; and the expected relief from the Supreme Court judgement has not materialised.
“The citizens are consequently left in a quandary. The banks claimed that the CBN has not officially communicated the Supreme Court judgment to them for any actions.
“The President has maintained a worrying muteness on the judgment; the market women and men are waiting to hear from President Buhari or the CBN governor on the legal tender status of old currency notes.”
The CPPE boss noted that curiously, there was an apparent reluctance or unwillingness by the Federal Government and the CBN to comply with the Supreme Court judgment, describing this as very disturbing and inexplicable.
“Meanwhile, Nigerians continue to groan in the adversity inflicted by the acute cash shortage amid rejection of old currency notes by market operators, refusal by banks to accept the old notes, silence by the Presidency on the Supreme Court judgement; and absence of official pronouncement by the CBN on the issue,” Yusuf stated.
He pointed out retail transactions across sectors had become nerve-wracking and distressing as payment system challenges persisted.
The Guardian reports that the Socio-Econimic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari to order Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed and National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to urgently withdraw the ‘last warning’ and threat to revoke licences and shut broadcast stations over post-election coverage.
It threatened legal action to compel the current administration to comply with the request in public interest.
The NBC had, last week, threatened to revoke the licences of broadcast stations and shut them down if they continue to allow “unpatriotic individuals on their platforms to make utterances that are subversive, hateful, inciting in the post-2023 presidential election.”
But in a letter dated yesterday and signed by deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP said the threat, if not immediately withdrawn, would limit freedom of expression and ability of broadcast stations to cover important issues around the 2023 general elections.
The NBC had, last week, threatened to revoke the licences of broadcast stations and shut them down if they continue to allow “unpatriotic individuals on their platforms to make utterances that are subversive, hateful, inciting in the post-2023 presidential election.”
But in a letter dated yesterday and signed by deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP said the threat, if not immediately withdrawn, would limit freedom of expression and ability of broadcast stations to cover important issues around the 2023 general elections.
According to the organisation, the warning “is clearly incompatible with Nigeria’s constitutional and international human rights obligations.”
It continued: “Political expression is a fundamental right. The threat by NBC creates a significant risk that legitimate expression may be prohibited.
“Such unlawful prohibition may prevent transparency and dissemination of information on legitimate issues of public interest around the 2023 general elections.
The newspaper says that Wema Bank Plc has stated that it will continue to give Nigerian women-led businesses access to funds, while sustaining other forms of support to bridge the gender gap in the corporate world.
At its event commemorating International Women’s Day, the bank said its pro-women lending and mentorship platform, SARA by Wema, would continue to live up to the expectation of female entrepreneurs across the country.
Its Managing Director, Moruf Oseni, said SARA would continue to serve as an outpost of its mandate to support the entrepreneurial exploits of Nigerian women.
According to him, embracing equity in the corporate environment is a major step toward building inclusive economic growth. He said Wema Bank would continue to champion equity in the workplace, giving equal opportunity to both genders to succeed in their career aspirations.
Head of Corporate Sustainability, Abimbola Agbejule, said the bank has, through SARA, contributed to the success story of Nigerian female entrepreneurs. She added that efforts to replicate the success story across sectors and regions would require more collaboration among women groups.
The Head of SARA by Wema, Abiola Nejo, said the product is about connecting, empowering and inspiring women.
“SARA by Wema is for every woman: young female professional adult, irrespective of class or socio-economic status.
It is a proposition designed with the sole purpose of improving the financial, economic and social life of women.
“As part of the efforts of SARA by Wema to build its community for supporting women, Wema Bank is a signatory to United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP). We are committed to making a difference for gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community,” she said.
GIK/APA