Supreme Court is said to pass its verdict today (Friday) on a suit instituted by some state governments against the Federal Government on the Naira re-design and cashless policy.
This publication recalls that the Supreme Court’s seven-man panel of Justices led by Justice John Inyang Okoro had on Wednesday, February 22 adjourned the case of the new naira policy till March 3, 2023.
AmBusiness reported that three states Zamfara, Kogi and Kaduna filed a lawsuit against the Federal Government on February 3.
Other states like Katsina, Lagos, Cross River, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo and Sokoto later joined as co-plaintiffs.
This was owing to the hardship caused by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s naira redesign policy and the extended deadline of February 10, to ban the old N1000, N500 and N200 notes from being legal tenders.
Following the lawsuit by these states, the Supreme Court on February 8 ordered the CBN to suspend the implementation of the deadline of February 10, set for swapping the old note until after the court hearing on February 15.
After the hearing on Wednesday, 15 February 2023, the case was adjoined the second time to February 22, 2023. The date for the court’s verdict was then adjourned till March 3.
It was reported that a total of sixteen states of the country filed the suit to challenge the implementation of the new naira which they said has been causing hardship for Nigerians.
According to The Punch, more than 40 Senior Advocates of Nigeria representing different parties are now at the Supreme Court.
Also, it was reported that a retinue of lawyers concerned with the case and representing different states are seated in the Supreme Court’s main room where the judgment is to be delivered.
Details later.
