Naira redesign: Hope deferred as Supreme Court adjourns suit to Feb 22

• Nine more states join suit 
• Buhari meets Emefiele again after apex court adjournment
• El-Rufai debunks extension reports, says no meeting took place this week between FG, governors
• Akeredolu to Buhari: APC rating in free fall, reverse currency policy now
• Sanwo-Olu vows to prosecute those rejecting old naira notes
• Forget about free, fair elections if old notes are allowed before Feb 25, Shehu Sani warns
• Anglican Communion urges government to check ongoing exploitation of Nigerians

The direction of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s naira redesign policy has remained in a state of flux, leaving Nigerians despondent and causing a rash of protests across the country.

While the hardship over scarcity of naira notes and rejection of old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes continues, the Supreme Court, yesterday, adjourned to February 22, the suit challenging the February 10 deadline set by CBN to end the legal tender status of the old notes.

A panel of seven Justices, led by Justice John Okoro, admitted nine more states as plaintiffs and co-defendant in the suit. The newly admitted states as plaintiffs are Lagos, Cross River, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo and Sokoto, while Bayelsa and Edo states were joined as respondents.

Justice Okoro directed all parties in the suit to properly amend their processes and originating summons. The court also held that the order earlier given last week still subsists pending a hearing of the suit on February 22.

The court made the clarification following a complaint by lawyer to Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states, Abdulhakeem Mustapha (SAN) that the Federal Government and its agencies have failed to comply with the order and have allegedly directed rejection of the old notes.

Mustapha said the plaintiff filed a notice of none-compliance with the order of the court made on February 8 and demanded that the court takes action against the respondent to protect the dignity of the court. However, the court said the order is still in place pending hearing of the suit.

MEANWHILE, President Muhammadu Buhari has met with CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, hours after the Supreme Court adjourned the suit. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, confirmed this to The Guardian, saying Emefiele met with the President after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.

Reacting to rumours making the rounds that the President may be thinking of an extension of the validity of the old naira notes by 60 days, the presidential spokesman said he was not in a position to confirm or deny the narrative.

Earlier, President Buhari, Wednesday, had held a closed door meeting with the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Reliable sources said the meeting, which agenda was not known, was held at the President’s residence inside the Villa before the weekly FEC meeting.

The President arrived late for the first time for the FEC meeting, which commenced at 10:40a.m. A source said President Buhari came late because he was monitoring the outcome of the Supreme Court’s case against the naira redesign policy.

Reacting to reports that the President was considering an extension of the deadline on naira swap policy, Muyiwa Adekeye, Special Adviser to Kaduna Governor on Media & Communication, said there has been no meeting this week between the FG and either the NGF or the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), not to talk of one lasting till the wee hours of Wednesday where a decision was made on some out-of-court concessions.

HOWEVER, lawyers are divided on the implementation of Supreme Court’s proceeding that the old currency is still a legal tender, while others said the contrary.

According to a lawyer, Douglas Ugbankwa, the old currency is still a legal tender as the ex parte order was made pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

“The CBN should obey the court order, as you can see, not doing so will lead to a total breakdown of law and order. Government does not have the moral fibre to arrest anyone destroying things as it is their disobedience of the court order that has exacerbated attacks on banks and government buildings.

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Douglas Terkura Pepe, said the old note will no longer be legal tender since CBN in the first instance refused to obey the order.

A Lagos-based human rights lawyers, Monday Oyekachi Ubani and Ige Asemudara, have said the old note is still legal tender in the country, despite what CBN says. In his response, Ubani said the order made by the apex court last week still subsists.

“That order was not vacated today, the court adjourned till February 22, so old naira notes are legal tender.”

Another lawyer, Barnabas Hunjo, explained that if the states who filed the suit want to challenge the legal tender, they should have joined CBN, because the issue of legal tender falls under CBN Act.

He emphasised that by the CBN Act, the apex bank can be sued on its own for any breach of his Act, not to challenge Federal Government, because the legal tender dispute is between state government against Federal Government.

“What the governors are arguing is that there should have been an Economic Council Meeting headed by the Vice President and FEC delegation. However, the constitutional responsibility of CBN is to inform the President as a norm, which the CBN Governor has done and he has secured the consent of the President.

“The state Attorney Generals know they may run foul of jurisdiction and that’s why they didn’t joined CBN at the Supreme Court.”
ONDO State governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, yesterday, said the hardship caused by the fuel and naira scarcity has negatively affected the rating of the ruling APC ahead of the general election coming up next weekend.

While faulting the timing of the currency swap policy, Akeredolu urged President Buhari to direct Emefiele to reverse the naira redesign policy now.

The governor disclosed this while receiving members of the Youth Directorate of the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of the APC, led by Seyi Tinubu, Tinubu’s son.

He said: “We have a problem we are facing in this country today. Our rating as a party is not that favourable. Let’s not deceive ourselves. Must it be now that we will have this financial policy?

“How? Fuel and everything? Things are not easy. This policy is not right at this time. It should be reversed. Reverse it, and tell CBN that we are reversing it. Let old and new notes co-exist.”

SIMILARLY, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led Lagos State Government on Wednesday vowed to prosecute anyone rejecting old naira notes as legal tender across the state.

In a statement by the state’s Commissioner, Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, the governor said since the Supreme Court was yet to rule on the matter, the old N200, N500, and N1,000 still remain legal tender.

The statement read: “The Lagos State Government wishes to put on record the patience and calmness of Lagosians following the controversy generated by the Naira shortage crisis.

“The State Government has joined the dispute at the Supreme Court, which today adjourned the hearing of the matter till February 22. When the matter first came up on February 8, the apex court said the old notes remained legal tender.

“That position has not changed. The state government hereby warns those rejecting the old notes to desist from doing so or face prosecution. It is against the law to reject the old notes as doing so is contrary to the position of the Supreme Court.

“Governor Sanwo-Olu urges Lagosians to remain law-abiding and shun mischief-makers who may exploit this temporary situation to promote their anti-people agenda. He is confident that the Judiciary will resolve all the issues around the currency shortage crisis.

“To cushion the effect of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directive on the old notes, especially on the vulnerable among us, Lagos State has started the distribution of food packs promised by the Governor. The 50 per cent fares slash on all state transportation facilities continues, as directed by Mr Governor.”

A FORMER lawmaker, Senator Shehu Sani, has said that allowing the old notes to remain legal tender before the February 25 and March 11 elections will enable corrupt politicians engage in vote buying. The senator, who represented Kaduna Central senatorial district in the 8th National Assembly, made this known on Channels Television’s The 2023 Verdict programme on Wednesday.

Sani said that there is so much poverty in the country, which politicians would want to take advantage of by buying voters with stolen money.

“The struggle on this new naira note is as important as the soul of democracy in Nigeria. If you allow these old notes to be used on or before 25th of February, forget about credible and transparent elections. There is so much poverty in this country today.

“People will not see money and turn the other way; money has for a very long time influenced decisions of ordinary people because poverty has been so weaponised. So, as far as I am concerned, there should be no validation of this new note until after the election. If you do that now, the election will be so monetised,” Sani said.

The former lawmaker questioned why APC governors are insisting on using old naira notes. He dismissed the claim that the governors are opposing the policy because of the average people, wondering why the governors did not take the Federal Government to court since Nigerians have been “traumatised in the last seven years” over insecurity.

He added that some of those who are against the policy are happy seeing people protesting on the streets.

He advised Nigerians not to go on any protest over the naira swap as this could spark a conflagration that can incinerate the country, derail democratic process and destroy democracy as a whole.

PRIMATE of the Church of Nigeria, (Anglican Communion), Most Rev Henry Ndukuba, has called on government to check ongoing exploitation of Nigerians as a result of the naira redesign policy.

He noted that though the policy was well-intended, the exploitation must be checked to discourage agitation and severe hardship that will cripple small businesses.

Similarly, the Anglican Bishop of Kubwa Diocese, Rt Rev Dr Duke Akamisoko, has lamented that the policy has made life unbearable for Nigerians.

Akamisoko argued that government policies should be made to give hope and succour to the people instead of suffering and pains currently being experienced by the people.

Speaking at the 2023 Church’s Standing Committee Meeting held at St Bartholomew’s Cathedral, Kubwa, Abuja, Ndukuba who decried the scarcity of the Naira, warned that Nigerians are being pushed to the wall and it will be bad if the citizens rise up in protest.