Ten states have asked the Supreme Court to set aside the pronouncement of President Muhammadu Buhari, banning old N500 and N1,000 notes.
The governors who filed a suit on Friday through their counsel, A.J. Owonikoko (SAN), want the apex court to declare the President’s directives in his Thursday’s broadcast as unconstitutional.
The plaintiffs in the suit are the Attorneys General (AGs) of Kaduna, Kogi, Zamfara, Ondo, Ekiti, Katsina, Ogun, Cross River, Sokoto, and Lagos states while the defendants are the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and Attorney Generals of Bayelsa and Edo states.
The plaintiffs, in a 12 grounds of application, argued that President Buhari’s directive extending the validity of old N200 notes for 60 days and his ban on old N500 and N1,000 notes are an “unconstitutional overreach and usurpation of the judicial power” of the Supreme Court being that the case is already before the court.
The Central Bank of Nigeria had extended the deadline for the swap of old N200, N500, and N1,000 from January 31 to February 10 following complaints by many Nigerians, but the Supreme Court, after an initial suit filed by the 10 states, held that the Federal Government, the CBN, commercial banks must not continue with the February 10 deadline pending the determination of a notice in respect of the issue on February 22.
SANWOOLU CALLS FOR CALM OPN NAIRA SCARCITY
Governor of Lagos state, Babajide Sanwo-olu has called for calm following the series of protests that erupted in some part of the city.
He stated this during a media briefing at the state house while calling on transport workers not to hike transport prices as the government working on ways to ameliorate the sufferings of residents.
Normalcy is back on the streets of lagos as commuters go about their daily activities along Oworonshoki, 3rd mainland bridge and Lagos Island areas of the state.
The roads leading to Marina are deserted compared to a normal weekend morning in Lagos noted for its hustling and bustling.
At the state house, the Governor is out again to further douse the tension by addressing the people
Governor Sanwoolu calls for patience.
The Governor also serves a note of warning to opportunists and fifth columnists who want to use the situation to foment trouble. He wants them to desists or the full weight of the law will be used on them.
