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From Uche Usim, Abuja
The Director General of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr Muda Yusuf, has described the 10-day delay in obeying the Supreme Court’s ruling on the naira redesign policy as economically injurious. He noted that many individuals and businesses have already packed up, having succumbed to the severity of the cash crunch.
Yusuf, in a telephone interview with Daily Sun, said it was totally unacceptable and smacks of buck passing, for President Muhammadu Buhari to wash his hands off the issue when the buck stops on his table.
On March 3, the Supreme Court handed down its verdict, ordering the Federal Government to allow the new and old banknotes to circulate side by side as legal tender till December 31, 2023,. But regrettably, the Presidency, the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) were mute for 10 days, further heightening tension and chaos in the system.
However, Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President omn Media and Communications on Monday, said it was wide off the mark to blame the President for the current controversy over cash scarcity, despite the Supreme Court judgement.
“The CBN has no reason not to comply with court orders on the excuse of waiting for directives from the President.
“The negative campaign and personalised attacks against the President by the opposition and all manner of commentators are unfair and unjust, as no court order at any level has been issued or directed at him” Shehu said in a statement.
But the CPPE DG, Muda Yusuf, picked holes in the claims of the presidential spokesman, noting that in the CBN Act, currency redesign is a project that must get the backing of the President and should not at this time heap the blame of its unsavoury fallout on the CBN
He said: “The delay in obeying S’Court’s ruling is bad. Only God knows what the hidden agenda is. The first exparte order was partially complied with. Only God knows what they seek to achieve but it’s certainly not an economic agenda. You said you want to check vote buying but that is neither here nor there. Again, using the CBN to check vote buying is totally wrong and unacceptable. “The President should have advised the CBN on what to do. But whoever is in charge of implementation of the policy could have also stepped up to the principal (President) to take an action because the CBN Act states that currency redesign rides on the authority and approvals of the President”, Yusuf explained.
On fears that the Supreme Court’s ruling may serve as a precedent and an opening to challenge CBN’s policies in future by the political class, Yusuf said the fear was unnecessary as currency redesign is not a strictly monetary policy project but a matter of public interest.
“It’s when you’re talking about lending rate, CRR and the rest you can say that Supreme Court ruling on those was unhealthy for the CBN and the economy. But we’re talking naira redesign here and it rides on the President’s approvals every step of the way. He should have advised the CBN on what to do not passing the buck”, he added.
Nigeria’s first Professor of the Capital Markets and former Imo State Finance Commissioner, Prof Uche Uwaleke, advised the Supreme Court to tread cautiously while adjudicating matters concerning monetary policies as they remain the exclusive preserve of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) by law.
In a chat with Daily Sun, Uwaleke, who is also a renowned Professor of Capital Market at the Nasarawa State University, noted that if the highest court in the land dabbles into terrains constitutionally and solely designed for the apex bank, especially by giving a December 31, 2023 deadline without recourse to the CBN or empirically arriving at the said deadline, the latter could lose its independence in the process, with consequences capable of hurting the economy and upsetting the monetary policy ecosystem.
“The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land and it has given its ruling on the old naira notes and we expect the CBN to comply. But the apex court should not just dabble into the monetary policy space, especially in this ruling where it went as far giving a December 31 deadline.
“It should have allowed the CBN to decide on that based on information available and monetary policy calculations. I didn’t expect the Supreme Court to do that. It’ll weaken the implementation of monetary policies because when the CBN brings up a policy based on the MPC decisions, some people can just go to court and cite this case. So, a precedent has been set so to speak. It is a wrong precedent but it has happened.
“The CBN is not under obligation to consult every stakeholder before coming up with policies because it has the MPC already that takes decisions.
“Granted, the withdrawal of legal tender is not a daily activity of the CBN, the apex bank is to obtain permission from the President which it did here.
“The Supreme Court is not really blaming the CBN but the President which he didn’t run it through the NEC and FEC. So, anytime a major monetary policy decision is to be taken, the President should consult NEC and FEC”, Uwaleke explained.
Uwaleke also said that the cashless policy programme should not be derailed as it has loaded benefits for the country and the citizens, while making monetary policy administration easier and more fruitful.
According to economic experts, the benefits of a cashless economy includes; reduced crime rates without tangible money to steal, digital paper trail, and less money laundering, less time and cost associated with handling, storing, and depositing paper money and easier currency exchange while traveling internationally.
As a country battling terrorism, banditry and other crimes, it is very important to run on modern banking templates that dwarfs cash usage because illicit financial inflows, terror financing and tracking spending would be easier.
The CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, has encouraged the use of digital platforms for transactions.
