The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu has instructed governors nationwide to disregard President Muhammadu Buhari’s order that N500 and N1,000 notes are no long legal tender.
This follows Buhari’s announcement in a state address on February 16 that the old N1,000 and N500 notes were no longer legal tender.
The President added that his regime would only reissue the old N200 note, initially outlawed, until April 10—an announcement that met with widespread opposition from governors, including Governor Nasir El-Rufai, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, and House of Representatives Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila.
The governors had stated that defying the Supreme Court’s ruling to maintain the status quo was an invitation to anarchy.
Meanwhile, in a circular shared on Friday by an APC presidential campaign spokesperson Dele Alake, the former Lagos governor urged “friendly governors” to follow suit with Mr El-Rufai’s and other governors’ actions disregarding Buhari’s order in compliance with the Supreme Court’s ruling.
The circular explained that the apex court must have the final say as globally practised in a constitutional federation.
It read:
“All friendly governors must replicate Kaduna address immediately to assure the integrity of the SC (Supreme Court) and (the) rule of law for the local & international community. This is the essence of constitutional federation with the SC having final say and following the USA best practice.”
El-Rufai had on Thursday accused the Buhari regime of plotting to instigate a military coup in Nigeria to avoid transferring power to a civilian administration when his tenure expires in May.
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