A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress from Edo, Prince John Mayaki, has faulted President Muhammadu Buhari over his statement exonerating himself from the Central Bank Governor’s disobedience of the Supreme Court judgment on the old Naira notes.

The apex Court had ruled on March 3 that the old Naira notes remained legal tender till December 31, 2023.

Eleven days after the judgment and on the heels of public outcry, President Buhari through one of his spokespersons, Mallam Garba Shehu has exonerated himself, submitting that the apex bank and other federal agencies did not need to take instruction from him before complying with orders of the Courts.

Addressing journalists on Wednesday in Abuja, the APC chieftain asked said President Buhari to sack the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, (SAN) and the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele to convince Nigerians that he was ignorant of their disobedience to the Order of the Supreme Court.

He said: “To fully redeem himself and prove his non-involvement in the evil conspiracy against ordinary Nigerians and small businesses across the country, he must, in line with his constitutional powers and obligations as the nation’s leader, hold those responsible for this sabotage to account.

“Without mincing words, our demand as Nigerians is that there must be a reckoning for the disaster of the past few months — and it must begin with the leading culprits in the persons of Mr Godwin Emefiele and his chief backer, Malami Abubakar, the Honorable Minister of Justice who has failed to distinguish himself in this sad debacle.

“President must go further and beyond the statement and take actions and measures that will restore confidence and hope in the judiciary and our battered economy. That begins with an immediate sack of Mr Emefiele and Malami Abubakar.

“The reason for this is self-explanatory. Not only has Godwin Emefiele, but as the central banker also turned politician, done almost irreparable damage to the nation’s economy, wiping out small businesses and condemning Nigerians with an inescapable reliance on cash to death by hunger.

“He has also achieved the opposite of what he was appointed to do, which is the design and implementation of monetary policies to promote stability and investments. The country has been pushed to a cliff and investors are fleeing in droves. There is no objective reason for Emefiele, the most infamous central banker in the country’s history, to continue in his role.

“As for Minister Malami, his dodgy interpretations of the law and questionable devotion to political interests that are demonstrably against national well-being have shown that his commitment is first to his shady political ambitions, before the rule of law and public interests.

“For that, he simply must be relieved of his role and must let loo office focus his attention and doubtful abilities on the selfish ambition he trained his sights on since the very day he received his oath of office.

“For the President to fully exonerate himself from culpability, he should immediately sack his Attorney General, Mr Abubakar Malami and the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele.”

Mayaki further urged the federal government to ensure that helpless Nigerians have access to their hard-earned money kept in banks vaults without delay, saying “the unnecessary queues must immediately disappear from the banks, filling stations, ATMs, hospitals, markets/shopping malls, PoS, among others.