Naira Swap Policy: 10 States Slam Fresh Charges Against Buhari, CBN (Details)

Ten states of the federation have filed a fresh suit before the Supreme Court against the naira swap policy introduced by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The state governments want the Supreme Court to declare the action of President Buhari in a statement on Thursday where he directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to recirculate only the old N200 notes until April 10, 2023, as unconstitutional.

They argued that the declaration made by the President in his speech is contrary to the earlier directive by the apex court for all the old notes to remain in circulation as legal tenders pending the determination of a suit before it in that regard.

The fresh suit before the apex court which is marked SC/CV/162/2023 was filed by the attorney-generals of Kaduna, Kogi, Zamfara, Ondo, Ekiti, Katsina, Ogun, Cross River, Lagos, and Sokoto states.

CityNews understands the attorney-general of the federation (AGF), the attorney-general of Edo, and Bayelsa states were listed as defendants.

The relief sought by the applicants reads: “An order setting aside the directive contained in the special and presidential media Broadcast delivered on Thursday, the 16th of February, 2023 by the president of the federal republic of Nigeria (the substantive 1st defendant in this suit) for being an unconstitutional overreach and usurpation of the judicial power of this court on a matter constituting the subject matter of the pending suit herein; and in respect whereof there subsists an order of interim injunction binding on all parties inclusive of the president who is a party through the named nominal defendant in person of the 1st defendant as the chief legal officer of the federation.”

They further accused the federal government and the CBN of making pronouncements contrary to the existing position of the Supreme Court on the new naira policy which according to them is misleading Nigerians.

“Contrary to the order of the honourable court, the substantive 1st defendant through the president of the federation, and its agent, the Central Bank of Nigeria, have repeatedly released statements that the old Naira Notes are no longer legal tender, hence resulting in misleading the general public on what the status quo to be complied with, pendente lite, should be,” the statement it reads in part.