The Federal government said Wednesday that it was not disobeying a Supreme Court order, restraining the FG and the Central Bank of Nigeria from phasing out the old naira notes of 200, 500 and 1000. This is just as the Supreme Court insisted during the resumption of the suit against the CBN’s cash swap policy brought by Zamfara, Kaduna and Kogi States, that its restraining order was still in force till the case is determined. A seven man panel of the Supreme Court on February 8 unanimously granted an interim injunction restraining the Federal Government from invalidating the old notes after the February 10 deadline for the swapping of the old naira notes with the new ones.” We wish to state that it is not true that the Federal Government or the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN have taken a pre-emptive action on the legality of currency as a legal tender in view of the pendency of the case before the Supreme Court.” The position of the government and the CBN will be made known upon the determination of the suit,” said Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s spokesman.
At the hearing of the suit Wednesday, more States, Katsina, Lagos, Cross River, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo and Sokoto joined as plaintiffs in the suit, while shockingly to judicial watchers Edo and Bayelsa took sides with the Federal Government and the CBN. Rivers State filed a separating suit challenging the FG on the same matter. The Supreme Court adjourned the case till February 22, 2023, following an agreement by all the parties to the suit.
El-Rufai-and-Bello-at-the-Supreme-Court