THE Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike applauded the Supreme Court’s decision today to extend the validity of old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes until December 31, 2023.
Wike taunted the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, stating he had no choice but to comply with the Supreme Court’s judgment.
“I thank God the Supreme Court today has told them the old money remains valid till the end of December.
“So, if you still have the old money, use it. The highest court of the land has said so.
“Too bad for the governor of Central Bank. He has no choice. There is no other directive that can override the judgement of the Supreme Court,” Wike said just after the apex court verdict in Abuja.
Wike made the remarks while assisting his Oyo State counterpart, Seyi Makinde, at the commissioning of the Oyo State 5,000,000-litre Aviation Fuel Dispensing Depot at the Ibadan Airport in the Alakia region of the state today.
The governor also advocated for real federalism and restructuring, stating that many resources should be managed by state governments rather than the federal government.
He added that the Federal Government should either reimburse Oyo State for the money invested in the aviation fuel project or hand over the airport to the Makinde-led government.
“That is why we are talking about true federalism; that is why we are talking about restructuring. Certain things that the Federal Government gives to itself but will not perform. All they do by the end of the month is to collect a high percentage and begin to do all kinds of things,” he said.
Previously, the Supreme Court declared the Federal Government’s naira redesign program unconstitutional, calling it an affront to the 1999 Constitution.
According to the court, the strategy has led to certain people engaging in barter trade in this modern day in order to survive.
Sixteen states, led by Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara, petitioned the Supreme Court to declare the policy null and void since it is causing hardship to innocent Nigerians.
Following complaints from many Nigerians, the CBN extended the deadline for the swap of old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes from January 31 to February 10, but the Supreme Court, in a suit filed by the states, held that the Federal Government, the CBN, and commercial banks must not continue with the February 10 deadline pending the determination of a notice in respect of the issue.
Comments are closed.