Ten state governments have asked the Supreme Court to invalidate President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive on the cash swap policy.
The president in a nationwide broadcast on Thursday backed the Central Bank of Nigeria’s February 10 deadline for the expiration of the old N500 and N1000 notes but directed the CBN to recirculate the old N200 notes until April 10.
President Buhari’s directive came a few hours after the Supreme Court postponed the hearing of the suit filed between the federal government and some state governments by one week and restated that the deadline for the use of the old notes is suspended.
On Friday, ten states filed a motion asking the apex court to overrule the president’s directive, which they described as an “overreach and usurpation of the judicial power” of the Supreme Court.
The states are Kaduna, Kogi, Zamfara, Ekiti, Ondo, Katsina, Ogun, Cross-river, Lagos and Sokoto states.
The state governments, through their attorney-generals, argued that the apex court had on February 8 issued an interim order that the old N200, N500, and N1000 notes should remain legal tender pending the determination of the motion on notice.
They added that the interim order of the Supreme Court was reaffirmed on February 15, 2023.
“Contrary to the order of this honourable court, the substantive first defendant through the president of the federation and its agent, the Central Bank of Nigeria has repeatedly released statements that the old naira notes are no longer legal tender, hence resulting in misleading the general public on what the status quo to be complied with, pendente lite should be,” the motion read.
“…the first defendant decided to openly flout the orders of the honourable court on Thursday, the 16th of February 2023 when the president delivered a special and presidential media broadcast, during which the president openly and publicly varied the order of the court by directing that all the old naira notes excluding the old N200 were no longer legal tender and same would not be accepted except by the Central Bank of Nigeria, at its branches or designated points.”
The Supreme Court is expected to hear and give its verdict on the matter on Wednesday, February 22.
