The Ekiti State Government has applied to be joined as a co-plaintiff in a suit filed against the Federal Government in the Supreme Court of Nigeria over the naira redesign policy and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) deadline for exchanging old notes for new ones.
Dayo Apata, SAN, the Ekiti State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, filed an application for joinder in the Supreme Court on Friday, seeking three reliefs.
The Attorneys General of Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara States are the Plaintiffs in the suit, with the Attorney General of the Federation as the Defendant.
The Attorney General of Ekiti State is seeking three reliefs: Leave of this Honourable Court to join the Applicants as a Co-Plaintiff in this suit; An Order of this Court joining the Attorney General of Ekiti State as a Co-Plaintiff in this suit; and any other order or further order that this Honourable Court may deem fit to make in this case.
Some of the grounds for the application include an acute shortage of naira notes in the state since the Federal Government announced the policy through the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The applicant, Ekiti State Government, claimed that the Federal Government of Nigeria’s directive has harmed livelihood and caused excruciating pain and hardship for all Nigerians, including Ekiti State residents.
The state government also claimed that the Federal Government of Nigeria’s directive has had a negative impact on the revenue, levies, and taxes accruable to the coffers of the Ekiti State Government, as economic activities in the state are now completely paralyzed.
He also asserted that the Federal Government of Nigeria’s directive on the redesign of the Naira has created palpable anxiety among Ekiti State residents.
Another ground for the application was that Ekiti is a federating state of Nigeria and thus has an interest in the outcome of the Originating Summons in the suit previously filed by the three states in the federation.
The state government asserted that it, like the other plaintiffs, had a common interest in the outcome of the suit and sought permission from the Court to be joined as a Co-Plaintiff in order to be bound by the outcome of the suit.
It stated that no injustice or embarrassment will befall any of the parties on record if he is joined as a Co-Plaintiff to air Ekiti State’s grievances.
The sole issue formulated for determination is “whether the Applicant has made a case for the Court to favourably consider the Application