Nigeria’s highest judicial authority, the Supreme Court has again deferred its judgment on the old and new Naira banknotes swap deadline.
The apex court, sitting in Abuja, today, Wednesday, February 22, 2023 made this known while maintaining that it will hear the suit and ensure that it is brought to a logical conclusion. However, after taking arguments from all parties involved, Justice Inyang Okoro-led seven-member panel of justices surprisingly adjourned its ruling to March 3, making it the third time in succession.
Consequently, this adjournment may have dashed the hopes of Nigerians who were originally excited by the injunction raised by some governors who defied the Federal Government’s naira redesign policy. This development raised the hope of Nigerians who have high expectations that the apex court will authorise the use of old ₦500 and ₦1,000 notes alongside the newly redesigned denominations. They have all had their hopes dashed.
Recall that 16 states have so far joined the suit aimed at reinstating use of the old notes, which are no longer legal tender as a result of the government’s currency redesign policy. The frontline states include Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara. The joiner states are Ondo, Ekiti, Katsina, Ogun, Cross River, Lagos, Sokoto, Rivers, Kano, Nasarawa, Abia, Jigawa and Niger. However, Bayelsa and Edo states broke ranks with the governors of the aggrieved states, siding with the federal government.
With President Buhari’s recent pronouncement on the banned ₦500 and ₦1000 banknotes, and Supreme Court’s continuous adjournment of its ruling on the Naira swap deadline, should Nigerians expect much from the judiciary? However, the on-going cash crunch occasioned by the implementation of the new Naira policy has continued to inflict socio-economic dislocation for many Nigerians and their businesses.
