Some state governments are planning to initiate contempt
proceedings against the federal government and the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN) over their non-compliance with the supreme court judgement on the naira
redesign policy.
Last week, the supreme court ruled that the old N200, N500,
and N1,000 notes remain legal tender till the end of 2023.
Following the judgement, some banks have been giving the old
notes to customers but the banks insist that customers fill out a form on the
CBN portal before the old notes can be deposited.
Traders, motorists, and business owners have also refused to
accept the old naira notes in anticipation of official approval from the CBN or
President Muhammadu Buhari.
On Friday, the governments of Kaduna, Kogi, Zamfara, Ondo,
Ekiti, Katsina, Ogun, Cross River, Lagos and Sokoto states served Abubakar
Malami, attorney-general of the federation, the enrolled order and certified
true copy (CTC) of the supreme court judgement.
Abdulhakeem Mustapha, counsel for Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara
states, said that he expected immediate compliance with the judgment as the
non-service of the documents had given the government and the CBN an escape
route.
“The Attorney-General of the Federation has been served now
and we will take it up from there; if there is no compliance now, we will
commence committal proceedings against the attorney-general and the CBN
governor,” Mustapha told ThePunch.
“When the Supreme
Court talks, the constitution makes it compulsory for all government
representatives and everybody to comply with its order. It’s not discretional,
you have to obey, it is the last and the final and that is why we have
separation of power.
“The presence of separation of power is for checks and
balances; when the Supreme Court talks, it must be complied with by all
persons.”
The Kogi government recently threatened to arrest and
prosecute persons and businesses rejecting the old naira notes.
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