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

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.