Naira Redesign: Supreme Court Overturns Buhari's Unilateral Directive, Issues Eight Other Key Rulings

The Supreme Court on Friday overturned the federal government's illegal withdrawal of 200, 500 and 1,000 naira banknotes from circulation.

A seven-member tribunal panel headed by John Okoro said in a unanimous judgment that President Muhammadu Buhari issued the directive without consultation.

The court said that the federal government should have consulted with the state government through the relevant bodies such as the National Council of States and the National Economic Council before embarking on such a policy.

"The Constitution did not expressly require the President to engage in such consultation with the constituent states or to seek the advice of the above-mentioned bodies before issuing the directive in question here or before exercising any executive power of the federation,” said Emmanuel Agim, a member of the Supreme Court panel who read the main judgment.

He added: "Duty is implicit in the provisions of Section 5(1) of the 1999 Constitution which makes the President an agent of the Federation."

The court said that without such consultation “the federation loses its sovereignty and the president becomes the sovereign and the governor of Nigeria a dictatorship.”

Mr. Agim added that good governance and the economic prosperity of a nation "cannot thrive in a plural society such as ours if the executive power of the federation with far-reaching impact is exercised without the contributions of the constituent states on how that affects them".

The Supreme Court then declared Mr Buhari's directive to withdraw the old banknotes from circulation illegal. He also issued another order rescinding it and extending the legal tender status of banknotes until December 31.

The statement is one of nine declarations and orders issued by the Supreme Court in a ruling on the lawsuit brought by certain state governors challenging the president's directive.

Mr. Buhari late last year ordered the withdrawal of N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes by January 31, 2021, after introducing the new versions of the banknotes which were in short supply.

The directive, described as a "policy of demonetization" by some state governors who oppose it, has created a shortage of banknotes, creating disruption in the financial system and hardship for millions of citizens .

The federal government extended the validity of old tickets until February 10 at the end of January.

Three state governments have sued the federal government asking the Supreme Court to overturn Mr. Buhari's directive.

Other states joined the lawsuit, bringing the total number of plaintiffs to 16, as the cash crunch weighed harder on citizens.

On February 8, the Supreme Court issued an interim order suspending the implementation of the February 10 deadline set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to terminate the validity of the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes .< /p>

But the order was violated by President Buhari who defiantly restored the validity of the old N200 notes and insisted that the old N500 and N1,000 notes had ceased to be legal tender.

Rendering its final judgment on Friday, the Supreme Court condemned Mr. Buhari's act of disobeying the court order.

Mr. Agim, a member of the Supreme Court panel who read the Supreme Court's main judgment, said Mr Buhari's conduct "is a sign of the failure of the constitution and democratic governance has become a mere pretense and is now replaced by the autocra...