The CBN announced the redesign of N200, N500, and N1,000 notes in October 2022.
The apex bank set a deadline for the validity of the old naira notes which triggered cash scarcity.
The hardship that followed the cash scarcity forced some states to sue the federal government and ask the Supreme Court to weigh in on the matter.
Eko Hot Blog reports that the Supreme Court has invalidated the naira redesign policy introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
EDITOR’S PICKS
Delivering judgement in a suit brought by some states on Friday, a seven-member panel of the apex court held that the policy ran foul of the 1999 constitution.
The panel also faulted the entire policy of the CBN, saying the timing and implementation were defective.
The court, therefore, ordered that the old N200, N500 and N1000 notes remain legal tender until 31 December 2023.
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.ekohotblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/images-13-2023-03-03T122023.284.jpeg?resize=761%2C403&ssl=1)
Recall that the federal government had made the old N500 and N1000 notes invalid and extended the validity of the N200 note till April 10.
In October 2022, CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, announced the plan to redesign naira notes to control money supply and aid security agencies in tackling illicit financial flows.
The redesigned naira notes were unveiled on December 23, 2022.
The deadline for the implementation of the policy was fixed for January 31, 2023, but it was further extended to February 10.
On February 3, Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara States initiated a suit before the Supreme Court challenging the implementation of the policy.
Five days later, the apex restrained the CBN from giving effect to the deadline on the use of old notes following an ex parte application brought by the three states but the federal government ignored the order, proceeding with the implementation of the deadline.
Thirteen other states later joined the suit as co-plaintiffs. The states argued that the implementation of the policy was causing untold hardship for Nigerians.
The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, who was the sole respondent, however, filed a preliminary objection to the suit.
The AGF argued that the Supreme Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the matter and that the suit ought to have been filed before a federal high court.
Malami also said the plaintiffs failed to join the CBN in the suit.
However, the Supreme Court on Friday held that it had the jurisdiction to entertain the suit.
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.ekohotblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/20221124_000833-1024x683.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1)
The federal government’s decision to revoke the legal tender status of the old N500 and N1,000 notes has triggered cash scarcity across Nigeria for several weeks.
FURTHER READING
All eyes are now on the government to obey the Supreme Court order.
Click to watch our video of the week:
Discover more from EkoHotBlog
Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.
Advertise or Publish a Story on EkoHot Blog:
Kindly contact us at [email protected]. Breaking stories should be sent to the above email and substantiated with pictorial evidence.
Citizen journalists will receive a token as data incentive.
Call or Whatsapp: 0803 561 7233, 0703 414 5611
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.ekohotblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/AdvertEKOHOT-1024x1024.jpeg?resize=1024%2C1024&ssl=1)