Today, the Supreme Court will put an end to the debate over the Central Bank of Nigeria’s naira swap programme (CBN).
In a case brought by 17 states contesting the policy, which has for months resulted in naira scarcity and immense suffering for Nigerians and their businesses, the court set today for ruling on February 22.
This came after the plaintiffs (17 states) were ordered to merge their pleadings and a seven-member panel was formed to hear the case.
Kaduna, Kogi, Zamfara, Katsina, Lagos, Cross River, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo, Sokoto, Rivers, Kano, Niger, Jigawa, Nasarawa, Plateau, and Abia states are the plaintiffs.
The Federal Government, Edo, and Bayelsa States are the Defendants.
The plaintiffs argued that the policy was illegal and ought to be thrown out in their individual claims that were combined.
Abiodun Owonikoko, an attorney for the Zamfara State Government, had earlier asked the Supreme Court to overturn President Muhammadu Buhari’s order from February 16 that only old N200 notes be used.
According to Owonikoko, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), the naira redesign programme violates Section 17(2)(c) of the Constitution, which states that governmental acts must be humane.
Nevertheless, the plaintiffs’ attorneys Kanu Agabi (SAN), Tijani Gazali (SAN), Kenneth Mozia (SAN), and Audu Anuga (SAN) petitioned the court to dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction and incompetence.
Agabi criticised the removal of CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele as a party in the lawsuit, contending that relevant parties were not present before the court.
In the plaintiffs’ original summons and supporting document, the CBN was mentioned 32 times, while the apex bank—which was not constituted a party to the lawsuit—was the target of seven relief requests.
Agabi noted that an affidavit to show cause why Form 48 should be set aside had also been filed. Agabi stated that his client has filed a motion on notice seeking the dismissal of Form 48 issued on the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Emefiele.
Insisting that it was an essential intervention, he contended that Buhari’s nationwide broadcast on February 16 did not violate the court’s injunction.
For Nigerians who have used Point of Sale (PoS) companies as their primary sources of income, there doesn’t seem to be any relief in the meantime.
Yesterday, POS workers in Abuja charged N300 for every N1,000, N1,500 for every N5, N1,800 for every N6, N2,100 for every N7, N3,000 for every N10,000, N6,000 for every N20,000, and N40,000 for every N100,000.
An agent who only went by the name Edith defended the accusations and attributed the change to the CBN.
She criticised the fact that money from the banks “is not always available” and urged the apex bank to provide banks access to cash.
Edith said that three weeks ago, she placed N1.2 million with a petrol station in order to receive N1 million in cash.
PoS operators in need do not hesitate to pay extra, explaining that fueling stations typically want N1.2 million for N1 million.
She criticised the CBN for threatening to bring legal action against PoS agents, saying that “everyone who needs cash pays for it.
“CBN is unaware of the amount we pay to obtain cash. We wouldn’t be in this situation if the CBN had the money accessible. PoS operators are not at fault; instead, the CBN is to blame.
When The Nation visited the majority of the city’s commercial banks, none of them had any cash available to pay customers at their counters or ATMs (ATMs).
Roseline Okon, an Eleko operator in Lagos, claimed that she purchases cash from businesses with large cash turnover, such as supermarkets and petrol station attendants.
“My team asks the proprietors of supermarkets for money. For N10,000, we exchange N11,000. Those who come to us for cash transfers of N5,000 give us N6,500.
Michael Adigun, one of the PoS operator’s clients, claimed that due to network problems, he chose to purchase cash.
“I never intended to purchase cash, but it ended up being my only choice after a transfer I attempted to a customer went wrong. I purchased N5,000 at N6,500 tenable to pay my debts, he claimed.
(NATION)
