Ten states have filed an application before the Supreme Court seeking the nullification of President Muhammadu Buhari’s pronouncement that only N200 should be re-circulated as legal tender, effectively banning N500 and N1000 notes.
The states are Kaduna, Kogi, Zamfara, Ondo, Ekiti, Katsina, Ogun, Cross River, Lagos and Sokoto states.
In their motion filed on Friday, February 17, 2023, they prayed the Supreme Court to set aside the president’s directive to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) during his Thursday, February 16 media broadcast.
The states contended that the directive is an unconstitutional “overreach and usurpation of the judicial power” of the Supreme Court as the substantive matter is before the apex court, which on February 8 issued an interim order ex parte that the old N200, N500 and N1000 notes remain legal tender in Nigeria pending the determination of the motion on notice.
The lawyers led by A.J. Owonikoko (SAN) argued that the apex court reaffirmed the ex parte order on February 15, adding that the federal government had submitted to the jurisdiction of the court having appeared in the suit, making the matter subjudice.
