Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), a human rights lawyer, has dragged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) before the Federal High Court over the floating of the Naira.
Speaking on channels tv on Friday, Falana said floating the naira is illegal as there is no constitutional provision for floating the naira.
Recall on June 14, the CBN directed Deposit Money Banks to float the naira freely against international currencies.
What Falana is saying
In February 2016, Mr Falana had sued the CBN before the Federal High Court in Abuja requesting for an order to restrain the apex court from subjecting the exchange rate of the naira to market forces.
Falana said section 16 of the CBN Act directs the apex bank to fix and determine the rate of the naira and other currencies.
He said using any other currency in Nigeria without the approval of CBN is an offense punishable under section 20(5) of the CBN Act .
The senior lawyer said “There is no provision for floating the Naira. It’s illegal. The value of the Naira will be determined by market forces. That is not there in the law.
“I’ve had to sue the CBN at the feral high court because section 16 of the CBN Act has imposed a duty on the CBN to fix and determine the rate of Naira vis-a-vis other currencies.”
What you should know
In February 2016, Mr Falana had also sued the CBN before the Federal High Court in Abuja requesting for an order to restrain the apex court from subjecting the exchange rate of the naira to market forces.
In the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/146/16, he asked the court to determine “Whether the monetary policy of the defendant, which allows market forces to fix and determine the exchange rate of the naira is not a violation of Section 16 of the CBN (Establishment) Act 2007 and Section 16 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended.”
