The apex court said the president’s disregard of its order of February 8, 2023, amounts to dictatorship. The court today, March 3, 2023, ordered that old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes remain in circulation until December 31, 2023.
It also nullified the Federal Government’s Naira redesign policy, declaring it as an affront to the 1999 Constitution.
Justice Emmanuel Agim, who read the lead judgment, ruled that the defendants’ preliminary objections (the Attorney General of the Federation, the states of Bayelsa and Edo) are overruled because the court has jurisdiction to hear the case.
The court held that the dispute between the federal government and the states must involve law or facts, citing Section 23(2)1 of the constitution.
The Supreme Court also ruled that President Muhammadu Buhari admitted in his broadcast that the policy is flawed and faces numerous challenges.
According to the court, the policy has led to some people engaging in barter trade in this modern age in order to survive. The court also stated that the president’s defiance of the February 8 order is evidence of dictatorship.
