Why Naira Redesign May Be Declared Illegal In Court – Falana

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, on Sunday faulted the recent endorsement of the naira redesign by President Muhammadu Buhari, saying the policy may be declared illegal in court.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on October 26 said it will redesign the N200, N500, and N1,000 notes to take control of the currency in circulation.

Though the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, said she wasn’t consulted by the apex bank on the initiative, Buhari backed the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, saying he is fully in support of the policy.

However, Falana, in a statement, said the President is expected to present a money bill to the National Assembly for approval before the actualisation of the policy.

“The official endorsement is not sufficient as the President is mandatorily required to present a Money Bill to the National Assembly for the withdrawal of the billions of Naira from the public fund earmarked for the printing of the new naira notes,” the statement read.

“Specifically, section 59 of the Constitution requires “an appropriation bill or supplementary bill including any other bill for the payment, issue or withdrawal from the Consolidated Revenue Fund or any other public fund of the Federation of any money charged thereon or any alteration in the amount of such payment, issue or withdrawal…”

-Channelstv