FG obeys Supreme Court ruling on old naira notes deadline

The Federal Government (FG) says it will obey the ruling of the Supreme Court suspending the February 10 deadline for the validity of the old naira notes.

The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, made this known in an interview with Arise News on Thursday.

Malami said the Federal Government was hopeful that the exparte ruling which expires on Wednesday, February 15, 2023, would be upturned.

The AGF said the CBN which is a necessary party to the issue was not joined in the suit, stressing that the Supreme Court lacked jurisdiction to decide on the matter in the first instance.

He, however, stated that the decision of the Federal Government to obey the Supreme Court ruling on the naira notes deadline was based on the administration’s inclination to the rule of law.

Malami, on Monday, asked the Supreme Court to dismiss a suit filed by the Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara State Governments challenging the February 10 deadline for the validity of the old 200, 500, and 1,000 notes.

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The Minister of Justice, in a preliminary objection filed by his lawyers, Mahmud Magaji and Tijanni Gazali, said the Supreme Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit.

The AGF also asked the apex court to strike out the suit for lack of jurisdiction, adding that “the plaintiffs have equally not shown reasonable cause of action against the defendant.”

He further argued that the suit falls within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal High Court in matters of monetary policy of an agency of the Federal Government.

It would be recalled that the three northern states, in a motion exparte filed before the Supreme Court, prayed the court to grant an interim injunction stopping the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from ending the timeframe within which the old 200, 500, and 1000 naira notes will cease to be legal tender.

They submitted that the 10-day extension is insufficient to address the challenges plaguing the policy.

The plaintiffs also filed a motion on notice to abridge the time within which the respondent may file and serve a counter-affidavit for an accelerated hearing.

The apex court, however, temporarily stopped the Federal Government from banning the use of the old naira notes from February 10, 2023.

It also adjourned until February 15, 2023, for the hearing of the main suit.

The Star