Niger State government has filed a lawsuit against the Federal Government of Nigeria over the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the Supreme Court.
A statement by Justice Nasara Danmallam, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, in Minna on Saturday, said the case was filed with suit number SC/CV/210/2023.
This development joined the series of suits filed by five other state governments— Kaduna, Kogi, Zamfara, Ondo, Kano, controlled by the All Progressives Congress (APC), against the Nigerian government following the announcement of the naira redesign policy by the CBN.
Danmallam in the statement said the Niger State government was seeking for an extension of the timeframe given by the CBN for the currency swap and withdrawal from circulation of old N200, N500 and N1,000 amongst other reliefs.
The statement branded the timeframe as unreasonable and argued it was in violation of section 13, 14 (2) (b), 17 (1) (c) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
In the affidavit in support of the originating summons filed at the Supreme Court, the Niger government maintained that the unavailability of the new redesigned notes had caused untold hardships and sufferings on the inhabitants of the state, especially those living in rural areas across the state.
The statement lamented the inconveniences occasioned by the redesigned Naira policy, saying that the government would continue everything within its constitutional limit to cushion their sufferings
