The reason for seeking to preserve the subject matter of a suit pending before any court is simply to avoid situations whereby the decision that may be reached by the Court on the case on the merit loses value or that the Court is made to face a situation of fait accompli or complete helplessness. And once that dispute is submitted to the Court for adjudication, the parties lose the power to act or take any decision on the subject matter, otherwise we will be faced with a situation of complete anarchy and lawlessness. In every democratic setting such as obtains in Nigeria, there is the hallowed doctrine of separation of powers, by which the organs of government work separately and independently, without seeking to interfere with or undermine the statutory functions of the other organs.īy virtue of section 6 (6) (b) of the 1999 Constitution, the judicial powers vested in the Courts extends to the determination of disputes between persons and persons, between persons and governments and between governments and governments. The statement by the President that the old N500 and N1000 notes have ceased to be legal tender amounts to overruling the subsisting order of the Supreme Court, which he has no powers under the law to do. The President cannot disobey or circumvent that order, in whatever form at all. Also, there is already a subsisting order made by the Supreme Court to preserve the status quo of the subject matter of the case before the Court. If that is the case (and indeed it is), then where lies the locus of the President to dabble into making proclamations on a matter pending before the Court? The President is not entitled to take the law into his own hands, by seeking to overreach whatever decision the Supreme Court may take on the matter, ultimately. The President himself acknowledged in that broadcast that the issue of whether or not the old Naira notes will remain legal tender is already pending before the Supreme Court and he is a party in that case through his Honourable Attorney-General. There are many absurdities in the President’s broadcast. The highpoint of the President’s broadcast is best captured in the now infamous declaration that the old N500 and N1000 notes have ceased to be legal tender and that the old N200 will remain legal tender till April 10, 2023. The following day on February 16, 2022, the nation woke up to listen to the President in his nation-wide broadcast on the crisis of the old and new Naira notes. When the Court case came up before the Supreme Court on February 15, 2023, the interim order previously made was validated and extended. In the meantime, the problems associated with the scarcity of the new Naira notes continued unabated.Īt the behest of the President, the Council of State met and gave an advice that if the new notes are not sufficiently available, then the old notes should continue to circulate concurrently with the new notes until such a time that the latter will circulate widely. In its reaction to the suit and the order made therein, the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation, filed its processes in the suit and gave an undertaking to obey the order of the Supreme Court. Window.APP_STATE = JSON.The case was then adjourned to February 15, 2023. All rights reserved.SupportTerms of UsePrivacy Polic圜ookie PolicyDo Not Sell My Personal Information Please enable it or install a modern browser that support JavaScript.ĬareersPartnersAbout usWhere to watchSupportThis feature is coming soon.We’re currently working on it! Thanks for your patience.About UsOur StoryLeadershipNewsPressCareersBecoming A CitizenResponsibilitiesPerksWhere To WatchSmart TVStreaming DevicesMobile AppDesktop AppWatch on the webAccessibilityPartnersDistributionContent ProvidersAdvertisers© 2023 Pluto Inc. This website needs JavaScript to work properly.
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