A rights group, the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) on Tuesday, said it is not persuaded by President Muhammadu Buhari’s statement, claiming he did not direct the Governor of the Central Bank, and the Attorney General of the Federation to disobey the orders of the Supreme Court with regards to the currency swap policy of the federal government.
Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity, had in a statement yesterday, made the denial, noting that said since the President was sworn into office in 2015, he has never directed anybody to defy court orders.
He further espoused the position that the President is not a micromanager and will not, therefore, stop the Attorney General and the CBN Governor from performing the details of their duties in accordance with the law.
The presidential spokesperson said it is wrong to blame the President for the current controversy over the cash scarcity, despite the Supreme Court judgement, insisting that the CBN has no reason not to comply with court orders on the excuse of waiting for directives from the President.
But in a reaction to the presidential spokesperson’s statements, the RULAAC has described it as no more than deceptive posturing.
Executive Director of RULAAC, Okechukwu Nwanguma who made the disclosure, insisted that it does not make sense for President Buhari’s spokespersons to make excuses for the President saying he did not direct the Central Bank Governor or the Attorney General of the Federation to disobey Court Orders.
According to him, “these are public officials appointed by and are answerable to the President. They are also answerable to the law and to the people through elected representatives.
“Ultimately, the buck stops on the President’s table and what Nigerians want to hear is what the President has done to call to order lawless officials of his government under his supervision when they act wrongfully.
“This is the only way to demonstrate that he does not endorse lawlessness.”
The RULAAC maintained that the President has supervisory powers over his appointees and has a duty to call them to order when they act in flagrant disregard of the law.
It said beyond disowning them through statements issued by his spokespersons, the president needs to demonstrate to Nigerians that he truly stands against lawlessness and executive rascality by imposing disciplinary actions against them in accordance with the law.
“Above all, the President needs to lead by example by demonstrating that he has respect for, and is subject to the rule of law, and that he stands against disobedience to court orders.
“We didn’t see the President demonstrate this when the courts gave repeated orders for the release of Omoyele Sowore, Dasuki, El Zak-zakay and Nnamdi Kanu.
“In the case of Nnamdi Kanu who remains in illegal detention in contemptuous disregard of the multiple orders of the Appeal Court, the orders of international courts have also been ignored,” Nwanguma said.
The group asked President Buhari to demonstrate to Nigerians that he stands against disobedience to court orders and that he respects the rule of law by taking actions against the Attorney-General and the CBN governor and by complying with subsisting court orders to release Nnamdi Kanu.
