Following the failure by the Federal Government to implement the Supreme Court ruling which extended the use of the old naira notes till Dec 31st, 2023, another massive legal showdown is looming between state governments and the FG as well as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The New Diplomat reports that the Supreme Court in its ruling on March 3 had invalidated the deadline given by the CBN.
In a unanimous judgment of the apex court read by Emmanuel Agim, the 7 justices ruled that old naira notes shall co-exist with new naira notes and old notes shall continue to be legal tender until 31st December, 2023.
However, despite the court ruling, the old Naira notes were yet to be legal tender, a situation which the state governments have described as worrisome and unacceptable.
Nigerians are currently bearing the brunt of the controversial policy as it has collapsed many local businesses nationwide amid untold hardship and misery in the land.
It would be recalled that Zamfara, Kogi and Kaduna states had instituted the suit against the Federal Government and the CBN. Other states, namely Niger, Kano, Ondo, Ekiti, were also joined in the suit against the CBN and the Federal Government.
Reacting to FG’s disobedience of the apex court order, the state governments threatened to file contempt charges against the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami and the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele on Tuesday should they fail to obey the apex court which ordered that the old N1,000, N500 and N200 should be in circulation alongside the new notes till December 31.
The counsel for Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states, which dragged the Federal Government before the Supreme Court on the matter, Abdulhakeem Mustapha (SAN) who spoke with the members of the press, disclosed that Malami had been served with the enrolled order and the CTC of the judgment on Friday afternoon, noting that the AGF cannot act as if he was unaware of the Supreme Court judgment.
While Mustapha noted that the AGF wasn’t immediately served with the enrolled order and Certified True Copy of the Supreme Court judgment until last Friday, he is expecting immediate compliance with the judgment as the non-service of the documents had given the government and the CBN an escape route.
“The Attorney-General of the Federation has been served now and we will take it up from there; if there is no compliance now, we will commence committal proceedings against the attorney-general and the CBN governor,” Mustapha was quoted as saying.
Also, giving an update on the matter, the Zamfara State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Junaidu Aminu, revealed that since the Federal Government had refused to implement the judgment, the plaintiffs in the suit would approach the court again to ensure compliance with the court’s order.
Aminu who disclosed this, said the states would file contempt charges against the Federal Government on Tuesday.
He said, “We have just served the Attorney General of the Federation with the Certified True Copy of the Enrolled Order of the Supreme Court last Friday. We are waiting for them to respect the court’s decision on the naira notes and comply with the decision. If they fail to comply on Monday, we are filing our case on Tuesday.
“If he fails to do so, we will go back to court again to sue him and the Federal Government on contempt charges,’’ he warned.
