President Muhammadu Buhari overturned the Supreme Court on Thursday when he declared that the old N500 and N1,000 notes are no longer valid, according to human rights attorney Monday Ubani.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The 2023 Verdict on Thursday, Ubani, the Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law (SPIDEL), said that the President’s intervention should have been to allow the supreme court to resolve the issue and not to rush the procedure.
The president ought to have waited and followed the Supreme Court’s directive, according to Ubani.
The Supreme Court’s ruling was actually overturned by the President. According to what the President stated this morning, I take it that way.
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“There was an interim order which says you should hold on until the Supreme Court look at the grievances made by the state because unfortunately many other states are joining the suit, and the Supreme Court saw the wisdom in giving room for other parties to join so that there will proper parties before going ahead to look at the issues on its merit and that was why there was an adjournment yesterday (Wednesday).
“But unfortunately what the president has done this morning has actually ignored whatever is going on at the Supreme Court.
“When you say you will only allow old N200 to be in circulation, meaning that (old) N1000 and N500 notes are no longer legal tender,’ he said.
“My own understanding of what has taken place is that he has overruled the Supreme Court. He’s clearly not mindful of what is going on at the Supreme Court with what he has just done.”
“I am not too happy with what has happened this morning in terms of the President overruling the Supreme Court. I am not happy. We are not telling the world that we are practicing democracy. It is not a proper precedent. The world is watching us, the international community is watching us.
“If you cannot obey your court orders, how do you instill confidence in the international community to come into your country to make investments? In case there is any dispute, can there be a decision of the court that can be complied with within your country? We are not sending the right signal,” he said.
