Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, says the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, introduced the naira redesign policy to achieve a “pernicious end”.

Akeredolu said Emefiele acted irresponsibly on the naira redesign policy, noting that the CBN Governor and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, misadvised President Muhammadu Buhari on the implementation of the policy.

The governor, who described Emefiele as “a partisan of injustice and oppression”, stated that Malami misled President Buhari to disobey the Supreme Court order on the policy.

He said this via a statement issued on Friday.

The Supreme Court, while nullifying the naira redesign policy on Friday, said it is an affront to the 1999 Constitution.

The apex court also ruled that the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes should remain legal tender until December 31, 2023.

Reacting to the development, Governor Akeredolu said: “The government and the people of Ondo State received the news of the ruling of the Supreme Court on the punitive implementation of a monetary policy, hurriedly packaged to achieve a pernicious end by Mr Godwin Emefiele, with great relief. The position of the apex court is in tandem with our press releases on the subject matter.

“We salute the industry and courage of the Justices of the Supreme Court for the well-considered ruling.

“The CBN Governor and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice misadvised the President to assume powers of an Emperor answerable only to himself and no other authorities as enshrined in the law.

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“The Governor of the CBN acted most irresponsibly when he claimed to be exercising powers, which the CBN Act does not invest in his office. He was quoted as saying that he was fighting corruption, money laundering, and vote-buying. He acted, ultra vires, goaded by his political permutations. The AGF equally misled the President to act beyond the limits of his executive powers. Nigerians have been punished unduly.

“As the Supreme Court has pronounced, the law must be allowed to rule. There are statutory functions allotted to bodies in the 1999 Constitution, as amended. These bodies must be allowed to exercise those functions. Anyone purporting to act in contravention of the extant laws does so, either ignorantly or mischievously. The letters of the law are simple and understandable if the people in authority embrace less mischief.”

Akeredolu further enjoined the Federal Government to obey the ruling of the Supreme Court immediately, saying there was no other alternative open to it.

The governor noted that the Ondo State Government will penalise individuals and organisations whose activities impede its ability to discharge statutory obligations to the people of the state.

“We congratulate the states which challenged this obnoxious policy implementation and hope that our banks will release the deposits of Nigerians in their custody upon demand forthwith as there will be grave consequences for continued seizure of the hard-earned monies of citizens.

“There is no gain asserting the obvious. The whole policy may have been well conceived. Its implementation has been politically driven. The CBN Governor is a partisan of injustice and oppression.

“Most governments, perhaps with the exception of a negligible few motivated by the possibility of deriving unexpressed political advantages, cannot meet simple obligations to their citizens. It is most unfortunate.

“As we enjoin the officials of the Federal Government who may be directly involved in putting into effect the spirit and the letter of the Supreme Court ruling to do so immediately, the Ondo State Government will not hesitate to proceed against persons and institutions whose activities impede its ability to discharge statutory obligations to the people.

“There is no justification for the pains to which our people have been subjected for obvious political reasons,” Governor Akeredolu added.

The Star