NAIRA SWAP POLICY: SUPREME COURT ADJOURNS CASE TILL NEXT WEEK

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The Supreme Court of Nigeria has adjourned the case brought against the Federal Government on the naira swap policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) till Wednesday, February 22 for hearing of the consolidated suits by 10 states.

A large contingent of senior lawyers, the most of whom are Senior Advocates of Nigeria, crowded the supreme court to capacity for the case’s hearing on Wednesday.
Nasir El-Rufai and Yahaya Bello, the governors of the northern states of Kaduna and Kogi, respectively, were also present.

The Court had temporarily banned the implementation of the February 10 deadline of the CBN from making the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes legal tender during the last hearing.

The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has reiterated that the current policy, which has seen banks stop collecting old naira notes, cannot be reversed.

The Zamfara, Kogi and Kaduna states had instituted the suit against the Federal Government and the CBN.

Other states including Niger, Kano, Ondo, Ekiti, had also applied to be joined in the suit against the CBN and the Federal Government.

Lagos State and Ogun state are the latest states to apply to join the suit.

Court proceedings began with Justice John Okoro leading a seven-man panel.

He said the court should not lose sight of the case and its intention as it affects the suffering of Nigerians.

Bayelsa State and Edo State had also applied to be joined in the suit as a respondent on the side of the Federal Government.