The supreme court has adjourned the hearing of the case brought against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the naira redesign policy to Wednesday, February 22.
Ten state governors are challenging the Naira redesign policy of the CBN, which has rendered many Nigerians cashless ahead of the general elections that come up in less than two weeks on the 25th of this month.
The Supreme Court had previously suspended the deadline set by the CBN for the use of the old Naira notes as legal tender pending a ruling scheduled for today, which has now been adjourned till Wednesday 22nd of February, 2022
At the court session on Wednesday, Lagos, Katsina, Cross-River, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo, and Sokoto states were represented in court and sought to be joined as co-plaintiffs in the suit. Bayelsa and Edo states also sought to be joined as respondents.
In a short ruling, the apex court granted all the applications for joinder. The court directed the processes should be amended to reflect the states that have been joined as parties in the suit.
Shortly before adjourning the matter, Abdulhakeem Mustapha, who represented Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara, prayed to the court to make an order directing the federal government to implement a deadline on the old notes.
However, a seven-member apex court panel led by John Okoro said the interim court order delivered on February 8 is still binding, pending when the substantive suit is heard.
“The interim order is pending the hearing on the motion on notice,” Okoro said.
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Supreme Court’s suspension of the naira redesign policy
Recall the old notes were initially due to losing their legal tender status on January 31. However, the unavailability of new notes and backlash from Nigerians forced the CBN to extend the deadline to February 10 for the swap of old currency notes, as approved by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The past weeks have seen long queues inside banking halls and ATM centres across the country, as many cash-strapped Nigerians demand their own money, with banks claiming that they haven’t been supplied with enough currency notes. Protests have since rocked some cities in the country over the scarcity of the Naira notes, leading to the attack on bank officials and the destruction of bank properties.
“An order of Interim Injunction restraining the federal government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) or the commercial banks from suspending or determining or ending on Feb. 10, the time frame with which the now older version of the 200, 500 and 1,000 denomination of the naira may no longer be legal tender pending the hearing and determination of their motion on notice for interlocutory injunction,” Justice John Okoro, who led the Supreme Court panel that delivered the ruling, said at the time.
Though this ruling meant that the old naira notes continue to be legal tenders in Nigeria, the interim nature of the injunction means that the Federal Government and the CBN cannot be compelled to halt the implementation of the naira redesign policy completely.
Merchants and transport officials are already rejecting the old Naira notes as legal tender, leaving many Nigerians stranded and unable to complete business transactions.
Read also: Can all Nigerians get access to the new Naira notes before Feb 10?
More to come…
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