A civil‑society organisation, the Centre for Reform & Advocacy, has criticised All Progressives Congress (APC) governors for contravening the President’s directive on the new naira note. In a broadcast on Thursday, President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) announced that the old ₦500 and ₦1,000 notes had ceased to be legal tender, while the old ₦200 note would remain in circulation until 10 April.
Despite this, several APC governors instructed residents in their states to ignore the directive and continue using the old notes. In response, the CSO issued a statement, signed by its legal adviser Kalu Agu, questioning the legality of such actions. The statement asked: “Arising from the provisions of the law, can the Central Bank of Nigeria, on its own volition, call for a legal‑tender redesign and set a deadline for the use of old legal tender without the President’s approval? The answer, with respect, is no.”
The statement went on to note that the governors lack any authority—whether from the 1999 Constitution, Acts of the National Assembly, or state legislation—to issue contrary directives. It described the governors’ instructions to treat the old naira notes as legal tender, in defiance of the President’s directive through the CBN, as “treasonable, unconstitutional, unlawful, illegal and highly inciting.”
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