State governments, which sued the Federal Government (FG) on the naira redesign policy, have given the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, till Tuesday to comply with the Supreme Court order extending the validity of the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes to December 31, 2023.
The state governments threatened to file contempt charges against Malami and Emefiele on Tuesday if they fail to obey the Supreme Court order.
It would be recalled that the apex court, on March 3, ruled that the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes remain legal tender until December 31, 2023.
The Star, on Saturday, reported that no fewer than ten states have concluded plans to file contempt charges against the Federal Government and CBN over their non-compliance with the March 3 judgement of the Supreme Court on the extension of the validity of the old naira notes.
It was reported that the governments of Kaduna, Kogi, Zamfara, Ondo, Ekiti, Katsina, Ogun, Cross River, Lagos and Sokoto states, on Friday, March 10, 2023, served Malami the enrolled order of the Supreme Court on the extension of the validity of the old denominations to December 31, 2023.
By the service, the order became automatically applicable to all agencies of the Federal Government, including the CBN.
However, the Zamfara State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Junaidu Aminu, on Sunday, said since the Federal Government had refused to implement the judgement of the apex court, the plaintiffs in the suit would approach the court again to ensure compliance with the court’s order.
Aminu disclosed that the states would file contempt charges against the Federal Government on Tuesday.
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“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,” he told Punch.
The Attorney General stressed that Emefiele must address Nigerians on the controversy surrounding the naira notes on or before Monday (today), saying “that is what Nigerians are waiting for”.
“If he fails to do so, we will go back to court again to sue him and the Federal Government on contempt charges,” Aminu added.
The Zamfara State justice commissioner explained that it was the duty of the AGF to direct the CBN Governor to implement the court’s verdict on the naira notes, saying: “The Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, is the one who should direct the CBN to comply with the Supreme Court’s verdict and allow the old naira notes to remain legal tender until December 31.”
Explaining why the CBN Governor was not a party in the matter, he said: “The matter is between some states and the Federal Government. The CBN governor is an ordinary civil servant who receives directives from the Federal Government.”
Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, and his Ondo State counterpart, Rotimi Akeredolu, had accused Malami and Emefiele of deceiving President Muhammadu Buhari on the implementation of the naira redesign policy.
The governors also said Emefiele and Malami introduced the policy to cause hardship in the country after their failed presidential and governorship bids, saying it (policy) was their “revenge plan”.
The AGF and the CBN Governor have however yet to speak on the Supreme Court order extending validity of the old naira notes as of the time of filing this report.
The Federal Government and CBN have also yet to implement the apex court order as Nigerians wait for their directives for the resumption of the use of the old denominations, with traders, filling stations, and transporters still refusing to accept the denominations.
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