•••MEETS EMEFIELE, TAMBUWAL, BAGUDU, CDS, EFCC CHAIRMAN,
President Muhammadu Buhari has canceled a scheduled meeting with the Nigerian Governors Forum at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Tuesday.
No reason was given for the sudden decision to cancel the meeting.
However, the Network gathered that the President canceled the meeting because of the decision of a Federal Capital Territory High Court presided over by Justice Eleojo Enenche, which prohibited the extension of the February 10, 2023 deadline for the circulation of the old Naira notes.
The sources said that the President is not inclined to disobey genuine orders of a court of law.
However, the President held a private meeting with the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele; Chairman of the Nigeria Governors forum, Governors Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto state and the Chairman of Progressives Governors forum, Atiku Bagudu.
Also at the meeting which held at the council chamber were the Chief of Defence Staff, Geb Lucky Irabor and the Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa.
Although, no participant at the meeting spoke to journalists after the meeting, the presence of Emefiele at the meeting indicated strongly that the agenda was the raging issue of the scarcity of the new Naira notes in the country.
It is not also unlikely that the government might release intelligence assets against branch managers of commercial banks who are widely believed to be scuttling the policy.
The President had told the Progressives Congress Governors, during a meeting on February 3, that they should give him seven days to take a decision on the deadline for the circulation of the old notes.
The President was also quoted to have said that the banks were not patriotic and that even if a year extension is given the situation would not change.
“Some banks are inefficient and only concerned about themselves”, said the President, “even if a year is added, problems associated with selfishness and greed won’t go away.”
Many view the President’s comments to mean that he is not inclined to back out of the crucial policy.
On Monday, a Federal Capital Territory high court granted an order forbidding the CBN from extending the use of the old naira note beyond February 10, 2023.
The no FCT/HC/CV/2234/2023, has the CBN, President Buhari and 27 commercial banks as defendants.
The presiding judge, Eleojo Enenche, granted that “An order of interim injunction is hereby made restraining the defendants whether by themselves, staff agents, officers, interfacing banks or whosoever not to suspend, stop, extend, vary or interfere with the extant termination date of use of the old N200, N500, and N1000 bank note being 10th day of February 2023, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.”
