The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, decision to redesign the Naira did not have the backing of the National Assembly, according to Femi Falana and as such may be declared illegal, Femi Falana has said.
Falana, a senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, said the CBN has broken the law, barely a few weeks after the apex monetary regulatory authority launched new N200, N500, and N1000 banknotes.
The CBN had last week unveiled the new notes even though it had earlier set December 15, for the takeoff. The apex bank said it had the full backing of President Buhari, who during the commissioning of the notes said they will curb crimes such as terrorism and money laundering.
But Falana said the CBN redesign policy is not legally adequate, noting that President Buhari was supposed to send a money bill to the National Assembly to that effect to seeks their approval.
He said in a statement on Sunday that the fund used in printing the new notes was not captured in the 2022 Budget, adding that the CBN has violated the constitution.
He said, “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 public funds earmarked for the printing of the new naira notes.
“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.
“Since the fund for the printing of the new naira notes is not captured in the 2022 appropriation bill, the president is advised to prepare and present a supplementary bill to the national assembly to authorize the withdrawal of public funds from any account of the federation for printing the new naira notes.
“Otherwise, the printing of the new naira without appropriation by the national assembly may be declared illegal and unconstitutional if it is challenged in a court of competent jurisdiction.”
The National Assembly had during a riotous session three weeks ago, said it will work with the CBN to achieve its aims for the new banknotes.
