Old naira: Dismiss governors' suit against FG - AGF tells Supreme Court

Abubakar Malami, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), has approached the Supreme Court seeking the dismissal of the suit filed by three northern state governments challenging the February 10, 2023, deadline set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to end the use of old naira notes as legal tender.

In a preliminary objection filed by lawyers to the AGF, Mahmud Magaji and Tijanni Gazali, the Federal Government premised its argument on the claim that the apex court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit brought against it by the state governments.

Therefore, the Federal Government is asking the Supreme Court to strike out the suit for lack of jurisdiction.

As reported by The Punch, court filings dated February 8, 2023, revealed Malami contended that “the plaintiffs have equally not shown reasonable cause of action against the defendant.”

Recall that the governments of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara States, had on February 3, 2023, sued the Federal Government over the deadline set for the implementation of the naira redesign policy.

The states urged the Supreme Court to compel President Muhammadu Buhari, CBN, and commercial banks to reverse the February 10 deadline for the expiration of the old N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes as Nigeria’s legal tender.

In its ruling on Wednesday, February 8, 2023, the apex court ordered the Federal Government to maintain the status quo on the matter pending the determination of the substantive suit.

But, the defence lawyers argued that the suit falls within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal High Court relating to matters of monetary policy of a Federal Government agency.

AGF's lawyers argued that: “The claims or reliefs are not against the federation, but the Federal Government and its agency, the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“The Federal Government of Nigeria is distinct from the Federation or the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The plaintiffs have no grievance whatsoever against the Federation of Nigeria.

“This suit has disclosed no dispute that invokes this (Supreme) Court’s original jurisdiction as constitutionally define.”