Attention will today be diverted to the apex court as hearing in the suit challenging the powers of the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stop the use of the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes, begins today at the Supreme Court in Abuja.
This is just as the Ogun State Government has filed an application at the Supreme Court seeking to join Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara States in the suit.
Ogun state joined the suit on Monday.
The suit, which was originally filed by the three northern states, has since been joined by Ondo, Kano, Ekiti and now Ogun states. Rivers had also indicated its preparedness to do same.
Sources at the Federal Ministry of Justice said the intention of the state governors, who were joining the Supreme Court suit, is to delay the judgement and have the old currency run till after the election.
One of the sources, who pleaded to remain anonymous had said, “It is the design of the governors, who are adding many joinder suits, to delay the judgement and try to keep the state of affairs whereby the old currency would continue to be in use, while they lobby Supreme Court justices so that they cannot reach a judgement, and to push the Supreme Court decision on this matter until after the presidential election.
“They want to use the cash for the presidential election. So, they are adding more joinder suits to delay the outcome of the judgement so that the two currencies can work together. So, what we see is that the vote-buyers are fighting back.”
The Supreme Court being the final court in the country, joined the matter which has generated intense controversy, when it last week halted the federal government from proceeding to stop the use of the old banknotes from February 10, 2023.
Justice John Okoro, who gave the restraining order against the federal government, held that the order would subsist until today, when it would hear the case of the aggrieved states.
The action of the apex court was sequel to an exparte application brought before it on February 3, by the Attorneys-General of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara States.
Since its order on February 8, the apex court has come under heavy knocks by some critics of the administration, for venturing into what they believed was the exclusive preserve of the executive, although some others including senior lawyers, saw nothing wrong in the action of the apex court since the order made was a temporary one.
When the matter comes up today, it would be expected that the issue of jurisdiction, which is very crucial in any case, must first be resolved.