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Naira redesign without National Assembly approval illegal, says Falana

Published

2 years ago

December 5, 2022

Only the approval by President Muhammadu Buhari for the ongoing redesign of some naira notes is not sufficient to give the project a legal stand, human rights lawyer Femi Falana has said.

He said the approval of the National Assembly was necessary, without which the effort could be declared illegal if challenged in court.

On November 23, Buhari unveiled the new currency notes at the state house, Abuja.

The redesigned naira notes are expected to be in circulation on December 15.

Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on October 26 announced the plan to redesign the naira to control money supply and aid security agencies in tackling illicit financial flows.

Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, said her ministry was not carried along.

Falana, in a statement on Sunday, said the President’s endorsement of the CBN’s naira redesign policy was not legally sufficient.

He said the President should have presented a “money bill” to the national assembly to seek approval for the funds used for the project.

Falana said the expense is not captured in the 2022 budget, adding that the President must comply with the provision of section 59 of the 1999 constitution (as amended).

“Thr 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,” the statement read.

“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 authorise the withdrawal of public fund 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.”

Related Topics:Featured Femi Falana Naira redesign

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PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency

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November 26, 2024

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PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency

No fewer than 200 trucks are set to load petroleum products at the government-owned Port Harcourt Refinery, the presidency has said.

A presidential spokesperson, Sunday Dare, made this known in a statement through his official X handle on Tuesday.

Newstrends had reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company on Tuesday announced that Port Harcourt Refinery has resumed operations and crude oil processing after years of inactivity.

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Breaking: CBN increases interest rate to 27.50%

Published

17 hours ago

November 26, 2024

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Breaking: CBN increases interest rate to 27.50%

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised the lending interest to 27.50 per cent from 27.25 per cent.

This latest increase in the Monetary Policy Rate came after a meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday and concluded Tuesday.

The Monetary Policy Rate measures the benchmark interest rate.

The CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso, announced this in Abuja on Tuesday after the MPC meeting, last for the year, held at the apex bank’s headquarters.

He said the MPC voted unanimously to raise the MPR by 25 basis points from 27.25% to 27.50%; and retain the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 50% for Deposit Money Banks and 16% for Merchant Banks.

The CBN governor also said the MPC retained the Liquidity Ratio (LR) at 30% and Asymmetric Corridor at +500/-100 basis points around the MPR.

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Nigeria’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% in Q2 – NBS

Published

21 hours ago

November 26, 2024

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Nigeria’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% in Q2 – NBS

Nigeria’s unemployment rate stood at 4.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said in its latest report.

The report released on Monday said the unemployment rate decreased compared to the 5.3 per cent recorded in the Q1 of 2024.

The NBS defined the unemployment rate as the share of the labour force (the combination of unemployed and employed people) who are not employed but actively searching and are available for work.

“The unemployment rate for Q2 2024 was 4.3%, showing an increase of 0.1 percentage point compared to the same period last year,” the report stated.

“The unemployment rate among males was 3.4% and 5.1% among females.

“By place of residence, the unemployment rate was 5.2% in urban areas and 2.8% in rural areas. Youth unemployment rate was 6.5% in Q2 2024, showing a decrease from 8.4% in Q1 2024.”

Report also said the unemployment rate among persons with post-secondary education was 4.8 per cent; 8.5 per cent among those with upper secondary education, 5.8 per cent for those with lower secondary education, and 2.8 per cent among those with primary education in Q2 2024.

Employment rate – 76%

The report showed that the employment-to-population ratio, which measures the number of employed workers against the total working-age population, increased to 76.1 per cent in Q2 2024.

“In Q2 2024, 76.1% of Nigeria’s working-age population was employed, up from 73.1% in Q1 2024,” the report stated.

Self-employment – 85.6%

The report further showed that Nigeria’s labour market saw a notable shift as the proportion of self-employed individuals increased in Q2 2024.

It stated, “The proportion of persons in self-employment in Q2 2024 was 85.6%.”