From Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
Chairman, Body of Benchers in Nigeria, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) has described the naira redesigned policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as a good idea but expressed that its implementation had badly affected the informal sector of the economy.
The legal giant who said those in this category are the poor masses and constitute the majority of the population ,identified them to include those who don’t have bank accounts such as the motherless, fatherless, taxi drivers, orphans, petty traders, artisans among others .
Olanipekun, who at the weekend was appointed Professor of Legal Practice by the Federal University Oye-Ekiti(FUOYE), at its 7th convocation said, “the reality on ground is that the policy of the new redesigned naira note is a good idea but the implementation of the good idea is faulty.”
Olanipekun who explained that the naira redesigned policy had brought untold hardship on a lot of Nigerians especially the masses called on the federal government to intervene urgently and change the narrative.
” Nigerians are suffering, people depend on some people who are not using POS, to feed, pay school fees, buy somethings to eat at home everyday”
He added, “In Nigeria, those who make up the informal economy are people who are not into white collar jobs, government don’t pay them monthly, they sell, hawk their wares, the downtrodden”
“the naira policy, the way it was initiated, I don’t want to doubt the good faith of government, but one thing is that government exists to make life easier, pleasurable, meaningful, habitable for the citizenry, that is the prime essence of government
“I will not say much if government says that they are doing this because they don’t want the politics and elections to be monetized. I agreed with government but the question is this, if your election and your politics are monetized, what are the security agencies doing?
“Majority of the people are suffering, the people have the money but they cannot access it in the bank, that money is useless.”
At the convocation ceremony,, Olanipekun gave N500,000 each to 20 best students in the faculty of Law, ( FUOYE) to encourage them in their studies.
He , however, pleaded with Nigerians not to pull down the judiciary institution in the country, said ” it’s sacrilegious for any lawyer to be commenting fancifully on any matter that is pending in court.
“It is always better and even very decent and the ethics of our profession when a matter is subjudice not to comment on it”
