State governments, which sued the Federal Government on the naira redesign policy, have given the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, and the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, till Tuesday to comply with the order of the Supreme Court on the currency.
The state governments warned to pursue contempt proceedings against the two senior officials on Tuesday should they fail to respect the highest court which directed that the old N1,000, N500 and N200 shall be in circulation alongside the new notes until December 31, 2023.
About one week after the court handed down the decision, the AGF and the CBN have been mute regarding the verdict. Their silence has empowered Nigerians and companies to reject the old notes as lawful money.
It was reported on Friday that the Federal Government had been served with the enrolled order and Certified True Copy of the Supreme Court ruling directing the use of old notes as lawful money for 10 months.
The counsel for Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states, which dragged the Federal Government before the Supreme Court on the matter, Abdulhakeem Mustapha (SAN), disclosed that Malami was served with the enrolled order and the CTC of the judgment on Friday afternoon, adding that he expected immediate compliance with the judgment as the non-service of the documents had given the government and the CBN an escape route.
Mustapha added, “The Attorney-General of the Federation has been served now and we will take it up from there; if there is no cooperation immediately, we will initiate committal procedures against the attorney-general and the CBN governor.”
But giving an update on the move to enforce compliance with the order of the apex court on Sunday, the Zamfara State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Junaidu Aminu, revealed that since the Federal Government had refused to implement the judgment, the plaintiffs in the suit would approach the court again to ensure compliance with the court’s order.
States await FG
Aminu informed a News source that the states will bring contempt proceedings against the Federal Government on Tuesday.
He continued, “We have just served the Attorney General of the Federation with the Certified True Copy of the Enrolled Order of the Supreme Court last Friday. We are expecting them to respect the court’s verdict on the naira notes and comply with the decision. If they fail to cooperate on Monday, we are filing our complaint on Tuesday.’’
The AG urged that Emefiele must address Nigerians on the naira notes printed on or before Monday (today), stressing that “that is what Nigerians are waiting for.”
“If he fails to do so, we will go back to court again to suit him and the Federal Government on contempt charges,’’ he said.
The Zamfara State justice commissioner noted that it was the obligation of the AGF to instruct the CBN governor to enforce the court’s ruling on the naira notes.
Aminu further added, “The Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, is the one who should instruct the CBN to comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling and enable the old naira notes to remain legal money until December 31.”
Explaining why the CBN governor was not a party in the dispute, he remarked, “The problem is between certain states and the Federal Government. The CBN governor is a regular civil worker who gets directions from the Federal Government.”
Speaking with a news outlet On Sunday, Ekiti State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dayo Apata, SAN, said the state would join with other states on whatever legal procedures would force the Federal Government to comply with the Supreme Court order on the naira redesign and cash exchange policy.
Apata added, “Definitely, we are all in the same boat and what is crucial to us is to guarantee compliance with the court ruling. Therefore, whatever we will do legally that would make the parties comply, we will align with it.
“Whatever that is going to be legally feasible for us to accomplish the purposes and objectives of our going to court, we will unite with other states.’’
