RULAAC executive director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, said he is not persuaded by the statement issued on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari by his spokespersons claiming that he did not direct Emefiele and Malami to disobey the orders of the Supreme Court.
By Ishaya Ibrahim
Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to demonstrate he is not complicit in the disregard for court rulings by taking action against officials involved.
Recall that Buhari, in a statement through one of his spokespersons, Garba Shehu, dissociated himself from the action of the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, and the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami on the noncompliance with the March 3 Supreme Court ruling ordering the continuous use of the old N200,N500 and N1,000 notes.
But RULAAC executive director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, said he is not persuaded by the statement issued on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari by his spokespersons claiming that he did not direct Emefiele and Malami to disobey the orders of the Supreme Court.
Nwanguma said it does not make sense for President Buhari’s spokespersons to make excuses for him saying he did not direct Emefiele and Malami to disobey court orders and then fail to take action against the erring officials.
“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,” Nwanguma said.
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The RULAAC boss added that the buck stops on the President’s table and what Nigerians want to hear is what he has done to call to order lawless officials of his government when they act wrongfully.
“This is the only way to demonstrate that he does not endorse lawlessness,” Nwanguma said.
He added: “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. 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.
“Let Buhari 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.”