The Minister of State for Labour, Festus Keyamo, has said that his principal, President Muhammadu Buhari allowed himself to be fed with wrong advice, concerning the naira swap policy.
Keyamo who’s also the spokesperson for the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC-PCC), Festus Keyamo, has affirmed that his boss acted on wrong advice.
The Informant247 recalls that the Nigerian leader on Thursday revealed through national broadcast, directing that only the old N200 notes should remain acceptable as legal tender in circulation till April 10, 2023.
The president directed that the old N500 and N1000 should stop being legal tender in the country.
The 3 state governments — Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara had earlier approached the supreme Court — as the apex court ruled that the old naira notes should be accepted in the country till February 22, 2023.
There have been demonstrations in some parts of the country — some of which have led to destruction of bank facilities.
“My view is that the President acted honestly without intention to slight the Supreme Court,”
Keyamo made this revelation while granting a television interview on Friday.
“But he may have acted on wrong advice.”
He further said, “I did not give that advice; it is not my responsibility. I don’t know who gave that advice. I want to say this openly because tomorrow, people will ask me where I stood at this time.”
“He thought he was playing safe by saying, ‘Before you decide this matter in court, may I just provide some middle ground so that country burning, there are riots everywhere, so let me just try and provide some succour to the people, whilst acknowledging the matters are in court.’
“Now, if I were to advise him, I would have advised differently. I did not advise him. It’s not my responsibility; I don’t know who.”
When asked what advice he would have given the President if he’s in position to do so, Keyamo said he would have informed him to “comply strictly with the terms of the order of the Supreme Court, [which is that] all the old notes should circulate for now side by side with the new notes because that is the order of the Supreme Court.”
He further said, “all authorities in Nigeria must obey the orders of the Supreme Court, “adding that anything to the contrary is “a descent to anarchy.”
He described the disobedience to the order of the Supreme Court as an invitation to “revolutionary intervention or other kinds of interventions” in the country’s democracy.
He said the judiciary and the Supreme Court were the last hope to defend the country’s democracy.
When speaking about governors who threatened to stand measures against commercial banks that refuse to collect the old naira notes, Keyamo said: “It’s federalism in action. Those who are clamouring for true federalism – this is true federalism in action. People are thinking that this is the first time that governors of the APC are taking the President to court. It’s not.”
“On various issues, they have always challenged the President in court. It doesn’t affect their amity; it doesn’t affect the cohesion of the party; it doesn’t affect the cohesion of these individuals.”
“Don’t forget that the governors took the President to court over certain executive orders that he gave, I think regarding the state judiciaries and legislature and they won at the Supreme Court,” he said.