By Lekan Adejuwon
The Ekiti State House of Assembly has passed a resolution urging President Muhammadu Buhari and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to obey the Supreme Court ruling to allow the old and new N200, N500 and N1,000 notes to be in circulation until the suit before the apex court is determined.
The Assembly also resolved that the Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development, Mr. Akintunde Oyebode, to set machinery in motion to regulate the activities of Point of Sale (POS) operators with a view to saving the people of the state from exploitation and exorbitant charges imposed on them.
At a plenary on Friday presided over by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Olubunmi Adelugba, the Assembly appealed to the people of the state to remain calm in the face of hardship they are going through over the scarcity of new notes urging them not to be provoked into engaging in activities that could lead to breakdown of law and order.
The Assembly equally urged the people of the state to take the forthcoming general elections seriously and exercise their civic right of voting responsibly at the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly election and March 11 State House of Assembly election.
The lawmakers, at the same plenary, also screened and confirmed Justice Oluwatoyin Abodunde as the first President of the Ekiti State Customary Court of Appeal following her nomination for the post by Governor Biodun Oyebanji.
Expressing their concerns and worries on the suffering of the people of the state on the scarcity of the new Naira notes, the Ekiti lawmakers urged the federal authorities and the apex bank to obey the rule of law as enunciated by the Supreme Court ruling to bring relief to the beleaguered masses.
The motion calling on the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria to make the Naira notes available was moved by the lawmaker representing Ekiti East Constituency 2, Hon. Lateef Akanle and seconded by the lawmaker representing Irepodun/Ifelodun Constituency 1, Hon. Femi Akindele.
In his lead debate, Hon. Akanle, who is also the Chairman of the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, said nobody in Nigeria can pretend that all is well with the present situation of the country which he described as “precarious.”
Hon. Akanle regretted that the cash crunch has added to the hardship of Nigerians and the people of Ekiti State whom he said now keep vigil at banks for hours and days in a bid to access their personal money.
“It is very unfortunate that our people are now queueing at the banks, some of them are even keeping vigils at the banks. It is not good for our people to be at the banks needing money to do a lot of things only to be paid just N3,000 out of the money they are having at the banks,” he said.
Seconding the motion, Hon. Akindele who regretted that nobody envisaged that Nigerians and the people of Ekiti State would be going through what he described as “unwarranted hardship,” lamented a situation in which customers are now made to pay exorbitant charges to POS operators to withdraw their money.
Hon. Akindele who charged banks operating in the state to ensure availability of Naira notes to their customers for them to meet their basic needs and facilitate vibrant commercial activities said all hands must be on deck to bring relief to the suffering masses.
“We urge the banks to make sure that the Naira notes are available on the counter and at the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) without further delay and we also want to say that it is unacceptable for the POS operators to exploit the people,” he said.
Contributing to the motion, the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Hakeem Jamiu, commended Governor Oyebanji for ensuring that Ekiti State joined the suit filed by Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara States against the Federal Government on the new Naira policy at the Supreme Court accusing the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele of misleading President Buhari on the policy.
Rt. Hon. Jamiu who represents Irepodun/Ifelodun Constituency 2 noted that “it is good to go cashless but the timing is very wrong moreso coming at a time Nigerians are still battling with the scarcity of petrol.” He expressed regrets that the whole country has been gripped with tension on account of the development.
He said: “The CBN should make the new Naira notes available to the people. It is very unfortunate that the CBN Governor should mislead and deceive the President. The Federal Government and the CBN should find a solution, our people should not be provoked as they prepare to go to the polls.
“The Commissioner for Finance should rein in the POS operators, they are becoming wicked merchants. They should conduct their business with human face, they should stop their exorbitant charges on our people immediately.”
The Assembly Chief Whip, Hon. Adeoye Aribasoye, regretted that the scarcity of new Naira notes had given rise to more insecurity and shortage of food in the land coming at a time the country was recovering from the challenges of COVID-19.
Hon. Aribasoye, who represents Ikole Constituency 2, called on President Buhari to set a good example by complying with the ruling of the Supreme Court to allow the old and new Naira notes to be in circulation pending the determination of the suit.
He said: “By virtue of Section 20(3) of the CBN Act, the onus rests on Mr. President; he is the one that can approve (the policy) and the highest court in the land had spoken. The President should set an example by obeying the rule of law because the suffering Nigerians are going through can lead to unimaginable catastrophe.”
The Speaker, Rt. Hon. Adelugba, in her remarks, while showing her empathy on the present situation on the currency crisis, urged the people of Ekiti State to be calm and not to be forced to take the law into their hands.
She said: “I want to express my deep regret on what is happening in our country. All we can say is that this season shall pass; our people should be calm, our people should not be pushed to the extent of fomenting trouble.
“I want to urge the CBN and the banks to make both the old and new notes available to our people to douse the tension in the land.”
Earlier at the plenary, the Speaker had read a letter from Governor Oyebanji nominating Justice Abodunde, as the President of the Customary Court of Appeal after which the nominee addressed the lawmakers on her family and professional background before becoming a Judge of the State High Court in 2002.
Lawmakers including Hon. Akindele (Irepodun/Ifelodun Constituency 1), Hon. Tajudeen Akingbolu (Ekiti West Constituency 1), Hon. Adegoke Olajide (Efon Constituency), Hon. Yemisi Ayokunle (Ekiti Southwest Constituency 1) and Hon. Aribasoye (Ikole Constituency 2) had attested to the suitability and competence of the nominee for the position and that she should be allowed to take a bow and go.
The motion that the nominee be confirmed as the President of the State Customary Court of Appeal was moved by the Leader of Business, Hon. Oyekola Bode-Adeoye (Ekiti West Constituency 2) and was seconded by Hon. Ayodeji Ajayi (Ise/Orun Constituency).
The Assembly subsequently adjourned plenary sine die.
