FCT, Abuja – The lawyer to the three northern states of Zamfara, Kogi and Kaduna, M.I Mustapha, has explained the rationale behind the states’ decision to challenge the Federal Government’s plan to stop the old naira notes in the Supreme Court.
Mustapha, who spoke to journalists after the Supreme Court judgment, said the three states’ governments felt the pain of the common man and that was the reason for their action. He noted that the Supreme Court is not just the final court to approach during a dispute, it is also a policy court.
The lawyer further stated that the Federal Government’s policy was anti-people and that was why the three states approached the court.
Godwin Emefiele, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, had in November 2022 unveiled the new naira notes and insisted that the deadline to stop making the old notes legal tendering was on January 31, 2022. Following tension and protests from governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Nigerian public who could not access the new notes over scarcity, Emefiele announced a 10-day extension as approved by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The three states then approached the court, and their exparte order was granted by the apex court on Wednesday, February 8. Bola Tinubu, the APC presidential flagbearer, commended the Supreme Court ruling that stopped the Federal Government from banning the legal tendering of old naira notes.
In light of this, the three states have called on the Federal Government to review its naira redesign policy and ensure that it is not detrimental to the welfare of the common man. They also urged the government to ensure that the policy is implemented in a way that does not lead to further economic hardship for Nigerians.
