The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has described the pronouncement by President Muhammadu Buhari on the naira policy as “disregard” of rule of law because it is short of the order of the Supreme Court.
Mr Gbajabiamila said this on Thursday in a statement by his spokesperson, Lanre Lasisi.
On Thursday morning, President Buhari, in a nationwide broadcast, said he had instructed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to reintroduce the old N200 note until 10 April, while the old N1,000 and N500 had stopped being legal tender.
The Supreme Court had in an interim order on 8 February ordered the central bank to suspend the 10 February deadline on the currency, but the CBN disregarded the order and insisted on the deadline.
In the statement, Mr Gbajabiamila said the extension of the legal status of the N200 note is a step in the right direction, and he hopes it helps curb Nigerians’ suffering. He, however, noted that it is short of the directive of the Supreme Court.
He noted that the federal government could not afford situations that “suggest a wanton disregard for the rule of law.”