Abuja—The Presidency has denied rumours that it instructed the Attorney General and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to disobey the Supreme Court judgement on the issue of the N500 and N1,000 old currency notes.
According to the presidency, since President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn into office in 2015, he has never directed anybody to defy court orders.
In a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity, Garba Shehu, the Presidency stated that President Buhari has not done anything knowingly and deliberately to interfere with or obstruct the administration of justice.
The statement reads:
“The President is not a micromanager and will not, therefore, stop the Attorney General and the CBN Governor from performing the details of their duties in accordance with the law.
“In any case, it is debatable at this time if there is proof of willful denial by the two of them on the orders of the apex court.
“The directive of the President, following the meeting of the Council of State, is that the Bank must make available for circulation all the money that is needed and nothing has happened to change the position.
“It is an established fact that the President is an absolute respecter of judicial process and the authority of the courts.
“He has done nothing in the last eight or so years to act in any way to obstruct the administration of justice, cause lack of confidence in the administration of justice, or otherwise interfere or corrupt the courts and there is no reason whatsoever that he should do so now when he is getting ready to leave office.
‘The negative campaign and personalised attacks against the President by the opposition and all manner of commentators is unfair and unjust, as no court order at any level has been issued or directed at him.
“As for the cashless system the CBN is determined to put in place, it is a known fact that many of the country’s citizens who bear the brunt of the sufferings, surprisingly support the policy as they believe that the action would cut corruption, fight terrorism, build an environment of honesty and reinforce the incorruptible leadership of the President.”
Shehu also noted that it is not right to blame President Buhari for the current controversy over the cash scarcity, despite the Supreme Court judgement.
The statement further stated that the CBN has no reason not to comply with court orders on the excuse of waiting for directives from President Buhari.
“President Buhari has also rejected the impression that he lacks compassion, saying that “no government in our recent history has introduced policies to help economically marginalised and vulnerable groups like the present administration,” the statement noted.