TEN states have petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn President Muhammadu Buhari’s declaration that only N200 notes should be re-circulated as legal cash, thereby outlawing N500 and N1000 notes.
In a motion filed yesterday, the states of Kaduna, Kogi, Zamfara, Ondo, Ekiti, Katsina, Ogun, Cross River, Lagos, and Sokoto asked the Supreme Court to overturn the president’s order to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which he stated during his Thursday, February 16 media broadcast.
The states argued that the directive is an unconstitutional “overreach and usurpation of the judicial power” of the Supreme Court because the substantive matter is before the top court, as the apex court on February 8 issued an interim order ex parte stating that the old N200, N500, and N1000 notes would continue to be legal tender in Nigeria while the motion on notice was being decided.
The attorneys, led by A.J. Owonikoko (SAN), stated that the supreme court had upheld the ex parte order on February 15. They also noted that because the federal government had entered an appearance in the lawsuit, it had submitted to the court’s jurisdiction, making the case subjudice.
The five-member panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice John Inyang Okoro had on February 15 categorised the 10 states opposing the naira redesigning and swap deadline as co-plaintiffs, while those in support, including Bayelsa and Edo states, were categorized as co-defendant states.
The matter is expected to be heard on Wednesday, February 22.
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