As Supreme Court hears naira suit today, Ogun joins govs pushing for post-election deadline – Newstrends
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As Supreme Court hears naira suit today, Ogun joins govs pushing for post-election deadline

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There are indications more governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) states will file for joinder in a suit at the Supreme Court seeking to extend indefinitely the February 10 deadline for the use of the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes.

Indeed, the grand plan, it was learnt, was to push the deadline to post-election date in order to have an opportunity to use the old notes during the election (vote buying).

As hearing in the case begins today, Ogun State Government has also filed a separate application to be joined in the Supreme Court suit.

Some state governments are said to be warming up too, all aimed at frustrating the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from stopping the use of the old naira notes, especially since the new notes are not sufficiently available.

Three state governments, Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara, which instituted the suit, got the Supreme Court to suspend the February 10 deadline last week until the determination of the substantive suit.

The suit has been joined by Ondo, Kano, Ekiti states, and now Ogun State.

Rivers, according to a Thisday report, is also indicating its preparedness to join.

It also quoted sources at the Federal Ministry of Justice as saying that the design of the state governors joining the Supreme Court suit was to delay the judgement and have the old currency run till after the elections.

One of the sources, who pleaded to remain anonymous had said, “It is the design of the governors, who are adding many joinder suits, to delay the judgement and try to keep the state of affairs whereby the old currency would continue to be in use, while they lobby Supreme Court justices so that they cannot reach a judgement, and to push the Supreme Court decision on this matter until after the presidential election.

“They want to use the cash for the presidential election. So, they are adding more joinder suits to delay the outcome of the judgement so that the two currencies can work together. So, what we see is that the vote-buyers are fighting back.”

 

The Supreme Court being the final court in the country joined in the matter which had generated intense controversy, when it last week halted the federal government from proceeding to stop the use of the old banknotes from February 10, 2023.

Justice John Okoro, who gave the restraining order against the federal government, held that the order would subsist until today, when it would hear the case of the aggrieved states.

The action of the apex court was sequel to an exparte application brought before it on February 3, by the Attorneys-General of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states.

Since its order on February 8, the apex court has come under heavy knocks by some critics of the administration for venturing into what they believed was the exclusive of the executive, although some others including senior lawyers saw nothing wrong in the action of the apex court since the order made was a temporary one.

When the matter comes up today, it would be expected that the issue of jurisdiction which is very crucial in any case must first be resolved.

More worrisome is the issue of enforceability of the said order, which has further thrown the nation into confusion as some commercial banks and businesses despite the order of the apex court and the pledge by the federal government to obey the order have continued to reject the old naira notes.

Also, lawyers and litigants are being prevented from filing court processes at the Lagos High Court, as officials insisted they would only accept new naira notes.

In the suit marked: SC/CV/162/2023 and filed on February 3, plaintiffs are seeking among other things, a declaration that the demonetisation policy of the federation being currently carried out by the CBN under the directive of the president was not in compliance with the extant provisions of the constitution and CBN Act, 2007 and actual laws on the subject.

Besides, plaintiffs wanted a declaration that the three-month notice given by the federal government through the CBN under the directive of the president, the expiration of which was expected to render the old banknotes inadmissible as legal tender, was in gross violation of the provisions of Section 20(3) of the CBN Act 2007, which specifies that reasonable notice must be given before such a policy.

Although, Mr. Mahmood Magaji, SAN, the lawyer representing the AGF who was the sole respondent in the suit, was present during the hearing and subsequent grant of the ex parte application he however filed the government’s objection to the suit.

The Federal Government in the Notice of Preliminary Objection dated February 8, claimed that the Supreme Court lacked the necessary jurisdiction to entertain the suit in the first place.

According to their argument, the plaintiffs ought to have commenced the suit before a Federal High Court and not at the Supreme Court.

Besides, the respondent argued that “the plaintiffs have equally not shown reasonable cause of action” against it.

Besides the objection, the AGF, Abubakar Malami also stated that the federal government would take steps to vacate the order when the court resumes, on the grounds that the law allows the government to challenge any order that it is not pleased with and that the government will do so in this instant case by the instrumentality of the law.

Meanwhile, Ogun State Government, in a Motion of Notice filed by its counsel, Afe Babalola and Co, on February 13, sought to be joined as 4th plaintiff/applicant, in a suit number SC/CV/162/2023.

The applicant in the notice further stated that it sought to be a co-plaintiff for the just and effective determination in the suit instituted by the other three plaintiffs.

The plaintiff also notified the Supreme Court that it would rely on all the processes already filed in this action in addition to the affidavit in support of the application.

Listing 13 grounds upon which the application was predicated, the plaintiff submitted among others, that the implementation of the Federal Government-sanctioned policy had thus far negatively affected the citizens all over the federation which includes Ogun State, and left several residents of the state stranded, cash strapped and frustrated leading to riots, grievous interruption of commercial activities, and a gradual economic downturn in the state.

“The implementation of the policy has totally paralyzed and brought to standstill the economic activities of Ogun State and also severely impaired the government’s ability to deliver on its economic agenda to the people,” it stated.

 

 

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Saudi Crown Prince assures Tinubu of govt support

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Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

Saudi Crown Prince assures Tinubu of govt support

The Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, has assured Nigeria of support in its economic reform programmes.

The assurance came when the Crown Prince and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu met on Monday in Riyadh on the sidelines of the joint Arab-Islamic Summit.

Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday.

He said the two leaders explored potential areas for cooperation, particularly oil and gas, agriculture, infrastructure and the constitution of the Saudi-Nigeria Business Council.

Nigeria wants an agreement with the Saudi government over a proposed $5 billion bilateral trade facility between the two countries.

The Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company, SALIC, invested $1.24 billion in 2022 to acquire a 35.43% stake in Olam Agri, one of Nigeria’s leading agricultural firms.

Talks are being held so that SALIC can have more stake in the company.

The Saudis hoped the investment would make Olam one of the biggest agro-allied businesses in the world.

The Crown Prince commended President Tinubu’s economic reforms, noting similarities to his steps to strengthen Saudi Arabia’s stability and development when he became Prime Minister.

He also assured Nigeria of his support and promised to motivate his team to realise the various areas of partnerships discussed at the meeting.

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At the meeting with the Crown Prince were the Saudi Minister of National Guard, Prince Abdullah bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, the Minister of Defense, Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, and several senior officials.

Meanwhile, the Joint Arab-Islamic Summit has renewed the mandate of Nigeria and other member states on the Ministerial Committee assigned to engage with global leaders in seeking an end to the ongoing war in Gaza and Lebanon.

This decision was part of the resolution issued after the extraordinary Joint Arab-Islamic Summit, which took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on November 11, 2024.

President Bola Tinubu and other leaders from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, OIC, and the League of Arab States were in attendance.

The Joint Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee, led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was formed by a resolution at the First Joint Arab-Islamic Summit in Riyadh on November 11, 2023.

The group includes the foreign ministers of Nigeria, Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, Indonesia, Palestine, and Jordan.

In its final resolution, the summit urged the Ministerial Committee to “intensify its efforts and expand them to include working on ending the aggression on Lebanon.”

The committee will submit periodic reports, which the secretariats of the OIC and the League of Arab States will circulate to member states.

The Committee has also been tasked with further engaging actors across the Global South in the efforts to strengthen international support towards ending the war and Israeli occupation.

The resolution stressed the importance of protecting sea lanes by rules of international law and welcomed the signing of the tripartite mechanism by the League of Arab States, OIC, and the African Union to support the Palestinian cause.

The summit praised the African Union’s steadfast support of Palestine.

The leaders condemned recent Israeli military actions in northern Gaza, describing them as “crimes of genocide,” including allegations of torture, executions, disappearances, and “ethnic cleansing.”

They also criticised ongoing efforts to solidify Israel’s presence in occupied East Jerusalem, reaffirming it as the “eternal capital” of Palestine and calling for the unification of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem under a sovereign Palestinian state.

The resolution reiterated “the full sovereignty of the State of Palestine over occupied East [Jerusalem], the eternal capital of Palestine”. It rejected any Israeli actions aimed at altering the city’s identity or consolidating its occupation.

The summit also expressed unwavering support for Lebanon’s security, stability, sovereignty, and the safety of its citizens.

Saudi Crown Prince assures Tinubu of govt support

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Two Nigerian companies developed contactless passport renewal – FG

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Two Nigerian companies developed contactless passport renewal – FG

The Federal Government has revealed that the contactless passport renewal solution, which went live in Canada on November 1, 2024, was developed by two Nigerian software companies.

The disclosure was made by Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the Minister of Interior, during the Politics Today programme on Channels Television on Tuesday.

Tunji-Ojo explained that the Federal Government deliberately chose to trust indigenous technology for the project.

“The solution is completely indigenous. We did not go to look for foreign technology. We got Nigerian technology – the two companies/vendors that came together to develop the solution are Nigerian software companies,” he said. 

The minister expressed confidence in the solution, citing his over two decades of experience as an IT cybersecurity expert and his extensive history as a project manager on numerous occasions.

He did not, however, mention the names of the companies, and at this time, they are not yet publicly known.

The Interior Minister emphasized that the contactless passport renewal solution is designed to alleviate the challenges faced by Nigerians in the diaspora, such as long travel distances, accommodation costs, and taking time off work to renew passports.

He shared specific examples of Nigerians in Canada and London who had to cancel lectures or miss work to complete their passport renewal process.

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While acknowledging that the new solution has encountered some initial hitches, Tunji-Ojo reassured Nigerians that these issues would be addressed.

Tunji-Ojo also clarified that delays in passport issuance, such as those reported by some Nigerians in Canada who experienced waiting times of up to 42 days after using the contactless passport renewal process, are not linked to the system itself.

  • Instead, he attributed the delays to the limited processing capacity of Nigerian embassies. For instance, he said that the UK embassy, which has received over 48,000 passport renewal applications (note: the contactless renewal system is not yet available in the UK and is currently exclusive to Canada), can only process 300 applications per day, leading to significant backlogs.
  • The Interior Minister explained that the contactless system leverages biometric databases, facial recognition, and live authentication checks, enabling applicants to renew their passports via a mobile app without visiting the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) office.
  • However, the system applies only to Nigerians aged 18 and above with existing biometric records, as first-time applicants must still visit the NIS office for interviews and biometric capture.
  • The Federal Government plans to expand the contactless passport renewal solution to other countries in the coming weeks.

Additionally, a centralized personalization center is being established in Abuja, equipped with advanced machines capable of printing up to 32,000 passports daily, to improve the efficiency of passport issuance.

 

Two Nigerian companies developed contactless passport renewal – FG

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New Edo Gov Okpebholo takes oath of office, Shettima, others present

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New Edo Gov Okpebholo takes oath of office, Shettima, others present

 

Vice President Kashim Shettima on Tuesday led the Federal Government delegation to the inauguration of Monday Okpebholo as a brand new governor of Edo State.

Other dignitaries at the event are Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, chair of the governors forum; and Philip Shaibu, the reinstated deputy governor of Edo.

Many sitting state governors across the country elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that also graced the ceremony are Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun, Hope Uzodinma of Imo, and Ahmad Aliyu of Sokoto, among others.

The National Chairman of the APC, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, and his predecessor, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, were also at the ceremony, held inside the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin.

Okpebholo took his oath of office at about 1pm on Tuesday.

Dennis Idahosa was also sworn in as Edo deputy governor.

The new governor rode in an open-top van round the stadium while acknowledging cheers from supporters.

As candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Okpebholo won the September 21 off-cycle governorship election in the state.

He polled 291,667 votes to defeat Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who came second with 247,274 votes.

Olumide Akpata, candidate of the Labour Party (LP), came third with 22,763 votes.

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