By Peter Duru, Makurdi

The Association of Local Government of Nigerian, ALGON, has decried the decision of President Muhammadu Buhari led Federal Government to shun the recent ruling of the Supreme Court which suspended the February 10, 2023 deadline of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, on the Naira swap policy.

It will be recalled that the Supreme Court  in an ex parte motion by the Kaduna, Zamfara and Kogi state governments issued an interim order on February 8, restraining the Federal Government and the CBN from effecting the plan to end the timeframe of the existence of the old 200, 500 and 1000 Naira denominations on February 10, 2023 which was not fully complied with.

Outraged by the decision of the Federal Government, the Benue state chapter of ALGON led by its Chairman and Council Chairman of Guma Local Government Area, LGA, Dr. Mike Aba Wednesday in Makurdi lamented the government’s indifference to the hardship Nigerians were facing as a result of the policy. 

The Chairman said, “as you aware, we are Chairmen of local government councils in Benue State. We are therefore leaders of the local government administration in the state and connected to the people we lead. We are therefore deeply saddened by the draconian economic hardship deliberately imposed on Nigerians by the All Progressives Congress, APC, led administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

“While we cannot fault the decision of government to change her currencies, we feel constrained how the administration has failed to consider the pains occasioned by this singular act which has left majority of our people impoverished and has turned our economy into a mess, leaving the people at mercies of shylock money changers. The onus to call the Central Bank to order and end this needless suffering inflicted on Nigerians by the implementation of the agency lies squarely on the shoulders of the President.

“Nigerians were therefore happy when some State Governors approached the Supreme Court to step in and save the country from imminent crises. Nigerians were anticipating that the apex court would make a definite pronouncement to address the Federal Government’s refusal to comply with its earlier order suspending the February 10, 2023  deadline. While the court processes were still going on, President Buhari by executive fiat issued a contrary directive thereby further compounding the misery of the populace. We find this as a great abnormality under a democratic dispensation for an elected president to ignore the ruling of the Courts, and especially the Supreme Court.

“This is a disrespect on the judiciary seen as the last hope of the common man taken too far. And we condemn this in its entirety.

“As leaders of the third tier of government that has direct contact with the people, we urge Mr. President to direct the Central Bank of Nigeria to correct these abnormalities brought upon the people to save our democracy, The President should not be seen as one who is leading in disrespecting our law courts.”

The Council Chairmen also condemned the recent statement by 52 selected Fulani leaders led by former Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi, who in a letter to the Presidency alleged that Governor Samuel Oetom had a hand in the recent blast that killed scores of supposed pastoralists at Akwanaja in Doma LGA of Nasarawa State.

According to the Chairmen “no sane mind should accuse the Benue State Governor of ordering the military operation. That will mean that Governor Ortom has usurped the powers of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who alone is the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces.

“Even as this clarification has been made by the Nigerian Airforce, deposed Emir Sanusi and his allies are parading a skewed narrative that “Ortom is involved” just in a bid to hang him at all costs. This suggests only one thing, that Ortom has been a target all along, and this unconnected incident is only a means to their end. But they have failed already.”