THE Ekiti State House of Assembly has urged President Muhammadu Buhari and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to obey the Supreme Court ruling which ordered that the old and new N200, N500 and N1,000 notes should be in circulation until the determination of the suit before the apex court.
The Assembly made the call in a motion moved by the Chairman, Committee on Finance and Appropriation, Lateef Akanle, and seconded by the lawmaker representing Irepodun/Ifelodun Constituency 1, Femi Akindele, during plenary on Friday, February 17.
The lawmakers expressed concerns about the suffering of Ekiti people due to the scarcity of the new naira notes and called on the Federal Government and the CBN to obey the rule of law as enunciated by the Supreme Court ruling to bring relief to the beleaguered masses.
The House also resolved that the Commissioner for Finance, Akintunde Oyebode, should set machinery in motion to regulate the activities of point-of-sale (POS) operators to save Ekiti people from exploitation and the exorbitant charges imposed on them.
The Deputy Speaker, Hakeem Jamiu, urged the commissioner to rein in the POS operators to conduct their business with a human face.
Jamiu also lauded Governor Biodun 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.
The Chief Whip, Adeoye Aribasoye, regretted that the scarcity of new naira notes had given rise to more insecurity and shortage of food. He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to set a good example and comply with the ruling of the Supreme Court by allowing the old and new naira notes to be in circulation pending the determination of the suit.
The Speaker, Olubunmi Adelugba, expressed regret over what is happening in the country and urged the people of the state to be calm and refrain from taking the law into their hands.
She also called on the CBN and the banks to make the old and new notes available to the people to douse the tension in the land.
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