FG Persists On February 10 And Requests That The Supreme Court Reject The States’ Lawsuit.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court overturned an earlier injunction issued by a high court in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) prohibiting the Federal Government and the CBN from undermining the February 10 deadline for the ongoing currency swap, adding uncertainty to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) naira redesign policy.

The Federal Government last night petitioned the Supreme Court to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the February 10 deadline set by the CBN to end the legal tender status of the old currency notes of N200, N500, and N1,000, despite the fact that the Supreme Court decision appeared to have eased the tension that a lack of cash had caused in the political system.

It claimed that the Supreme Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case, which was brought by three northern states—Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara—all of which are governed by the All Progressives Congress, which is now in power (APC).

The respondent claimed that the matter is just about CBN’s policy and not a disagreement between the federal and state governments. It claimed that because of this, the case is ineligible to be brought before the Supreme Court for immediate decision, and that the Federal High Court should have been the proper venue for the lawsuit’s initial filing.

Abubakar Malami (SAN), Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, was sued as the only defendant on behalf of the Federal Government, and on Wednesday night, he filed a preliminary objection before the Supreme Court opposing the lawsuit.