The Supreme Court on Wednesday fixed March 3, 2023 to deliver judgement on the suit filed by 10 governors against the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Naira redesign policy.
The Naira redesign policy has been causing untold hardship on Nigerians, leading to series of protests and burning of banks in some parts of the federation.
The CBN still insisted on the February 10 deadline and had stopped banks from collecting old the N500 and N1,000 notes despite the apex court’s order restraining it from carrying out the move.
Everyone thought reprieve has come the way of the masses when the Supreme Court granted an interim injunction to allow the old naira notes to be in circulation pending the determination of the case filed by some governors against the obnoxious policy of the apex bank.
The Supreme Court had in a ruling on 8 February granted an interim injunction that the CBN and the federal government should suspend the implementation of the February10 deadline for the expiration of the legal tender status of the old N200, N500 and N1000 notes.
On 15 February the apex court affirmed the ruling. This, it said, should be pending until the hearing and determination of a suit before it slated for February 22.
In a surprise move President Buhari on 16 February, in a broadcast announced that only the old N200 note would remain valid until April 10. He said old N500 and N1000 notes had ceased to be legal tender.
The broadcast had been heavily criticised and condemned by lawyers and many of the 21 governors of the APC. Many expressed outrage that the President could openly defy the apex court in a democracy.
But in today, a nine-member panel led by Justice John Okoro announced that judgement would be delivered on March 3 after taking final arguments from lawyers to parties in the cases.
The states which filed the initial suit against the CBN and Federal Government are Zamfara, Kogi and Kaduna on February 3.
Other states including Lagos, Ondo, Ekiti, Kano, Sokoto, Ogun and Cross River later joined in the suit.
