Nigeria’s apex court on Friday faulted the implementation of the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria, describing it as an affront on the 1999 constitution of the country.
The Supreme Court in its ruling therefore extended the validity of the old naira notes till 31, December, 2023, putting an end to the debate and economic crisis that greeted the policy.
Justice Emmanuel Agim, who read the lead judgment, held that the preliminary objections by the defendants (the Attorney General of the Federation, Bayelsa and Edo states) are dismissed as the court has the jurisdiction to entertain the suit.
Citing Section 23(2)1 of the constitution, the court held that the dispute between the Federal Government and states must involve law or facts.
The ruling therefore ordered that the old N200, N500 and N1000 notes remain in circulation till December 31, 2023.
It also restrained President Muhammadu Buhari and the CBN, from a full implementation of the naira redesign policy.
Justice Agim, the apex court said the President “did not follow the provisions of the constitution before implementing the policy.”
The court also noted that the President and the CBN failed to consult the National Security Council and National Economic Council before implementing the policy.
Recall that the CBN had earlier announced that the 1000, 500, and 200 naira notes will cease to be legal tender from Friday, February 2023.
Kogi, Kaduna, and Zamfara state governors led 10 other states to sue the Federal Government at the Supreme Court and called for a nullification of the CB deadline.
The states said the CBN policy is imposing a lot of hardship on Nigerians and insisted that the ten-day extension by the Federal Government is still insufficient to address the challenges of Nigerians swapping their old Naira notes for new ones.