By Fatima Zahra Muhammad
ASHENEWS reports that the Ekiti State Government has applied to the Supreme Court of Nigeria to be joined as a Co-Plaintiff in a suit against the Federal Government on the Naira Redesign policy and the deadline issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the swap of old notes for new ones.
The suit with the number SC/CV/162/2023 has Attorneys General of Kaduna State, Kogi State, and Zamfara State as Plaintiffs while the Attorney General of the Federation is the Defendant.
The governor, in a statement released on Sunday, said that the application was filed on Friday at the Supreme Court by the Ekiti State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Dayo Apata, SAN seeking three reliefs.
“The three reliefs being sought by the Attorney General of Ekiti State are:Leave of this Honourable Court to join the Applicants as a Co-Plaintiff in this suit, An Order of this Court joining Attorney General of Ekiti State as a Co-Plaintiff in this Suit; and for such order or further ordered that this Honourable Court may seem fit to make in this circumstance of this suit,”
The Ekiti State government identified the acute shortage of the naira notes in the state owing to the policy of the CBN, increasing hardship faced by Nigerians as well as its effect on the economy of the state.
“Some of the grounds upon which the application was premised include an acute shortage in the supply of naira notes in the State since the announcement of the policy by the Federal Government through the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“The Applicant, Ekiti State Government, averred that the directive of the Federal Government of Nigeria has affected the livelihood and has inflicted excruciating pain and hardship on all Nigerians, including citizens of Ekiti State.
“The state government equally averred that the directive of the Federal Government of Nigeria has also adversely affected the revenue, levies, and taxes accruable to the coffers of Ekiti State Government as economic activities in the State are now completely paralyzed.
“He further averred that the directive of the Federal Government of Nigeria on the Naira redesign has also created palpable anxiety among the citizens of Ekiti State,” the statement said.
