By Adedapo Adesanya
**Cancels Naira Redesign Policy
The Supreme Court has ordered that old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes should remain in circulation till December 31, 2023.
The apex court also nullified the federal government’s Naira redesign policy, declaring it as an affront to the 1999 Constitution.
The Supreme Court delivered judgement in the suit brought against the federal government on the Naira redesign policy.
Sixteen states of the Federation instituted the suit to challenge the legality or otherwise of the introduction of the policy.
The suit initially instituted by Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states has been slated as the first case on the cause list for a final verdict.
Justice John Inyang Okoro, who led a seven-man panel of Justices of the court, had on February 22 fixed today for the court to make its decision known on the suit.
The 16 states led by Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara are praying the apex court to void and set aside the policy on the ground that it is inflicting hardships on innocent Nigerians.
They accused President Muhammadu Buhari of usurping the function of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the introduction and implementation of the policy and asked that the directive issued by Mr Buhari be voided.
On its part, the federal government challenged the jurisdiction of the apex court on the grounds that the CBN was not joined as a party and that the dispute on the policy ought to be directed at the CBN so that the suit could be referred to the Federal High Court.
Mr Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State and his Kogi State counterpart, Mr Yahaya Bello, were in court to witness the judgement. The two governors were also in court at the last hearing. Also, Zamfara State Governor, Mr Bello Matawalle, was in court on Friday.
The CBN had extended the deadline for the swap of old N200, N500, and N1,000 from January 31 to February 10 following complaints by many Nigerians, but the Supreme Court, after a suit filed by the states, held that the federal government, the CBN, commercial banks must not continue with the February 10 deadline pending the determination of a notice in respect of the issue.
