A group known as Civil Society Central Body has expressed dismay over Wednesday’s Supreme Court order restraining the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from ending the Naira swap policy on February 10, saying that credible election will be threatened.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday temporarily halted the move by the federal government to ban the use of the old naira notes from February 10, 2023.
A seven-member panel led by Justice John Okoro, halted the move of the federal government in a ruling in an exparte application brought before it by three Northern States of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara.
The group, in a statement by its coordinating chairman, Obed Agu, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to issue an Executive Order for the Naira swap policy to terminate on the February 10 deadline and prevent further extension.
The group described the Supreme Court ruling as a plot to aid corrupt politicians to buy votes in the forthcoming 2023 elections.
While describing the exparte application as one without legal basis, they asked the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, to hurriedly vacate the exparte order in the overall interest of the Nigeria’s elections.
The statement reads, “Supreme Court exparte application has not legal basis. The CSO are rejecting it as it’s a plot to open the bank vaults to enable vote buyers and holders of illicit wealth to have cash to buy votes. We ask the CJN to hurriedly vacate the exparte order in the overall interest of the Nigeria’s election. We have suffered a lot in the hands of Supreme Court in undermining any effort for credible election. Supreme Court voided the card reader which aided and increased official election result rigging. The Supreme Court declared a man who came 4th in an election as Governor of a State and that helped to destroy Imo State and sanctity of the ballot.
“The Supreme Court few days ago declared two men who never participated in senatorial primary election as candidates in the person of Akpabio and Ahmed Lawan and Nigerians are still in shock and that helped to destroy credible of the primary process. And today the Supreme Court without jurisdiction in a matter that is not dispute between state and federal govt and instead of directing the governors supporting Tinubu who are aggrieved about the process to go to Federal High Court, usurped the powers of the Federal High Court on such banking issues, issued exparte order to allow use of old notes till Feb 15 thereby opening the gate for compromise of the election with vote buying.”
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