The Ekiti State Government has asked to be added as a co-plaintiff in a Supreme Court lawsuit brought against the Federal Government over the Central Bank of Nigeria’s deadline for exchanging old notes for new ones and its currency redesign strategy.

Dayo Apata, SAN, the state’s attorney general and commissioner for justice, submitted a joinder request to the supreme court on Friday, asking for three reliefs.

The Attorney General of the Federation is the defendant in the lawsuit against the CBN’s naira redesign policy and the deadline for exchanging old currency notes, which was brought by the attorneys general of Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara states, who are the plaintiffs in the case with the case number SC/CV/162/2023.

The Ekiti State AG, is in the application “seeking leave of this honourable court (Supreme 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 order that this Honourable Court may deem fit to make in this circumstance of this suit”.

Apata had premised the application on grounds including “acute shortage in the supply of naira notes in Ekiti State since the announcement of the policy by the Federal Government through the CBN.”

The state government also averred that “the directive of the Federal Government of Nigeria had affected the livelihood and had inflicted excruciating pain and hardship on all Nigerians, including citizens of Ekiti State.”

It also averred “that the directive of the FG 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 paralysed.”

The state government said, “The directive of the FG on the naira redesign has also created palpable anxiety among the citizens of Ekiti.”

It stated, “Ekiti is a federating state of Nigeria and therefore has an interest in the determination of the Originating Summons in the suit earlier filed by the three states in the federation,” adding that “having a common interest as other plaintiffs and also in the outcome of the suit, sought the leave of the Court to be joined as a co-plaintiff in order to be bound by the outcome of the suit.”

Additionally, it was claimed that joining as a co-plaintiff to air the complaints of Ekiti State would not cause any of the parties on record any injustice or humiliation.

The state government defended its application with the claim that the supreme court has always held that anyone whose attendance is essential to a lawsuit must be made a party to the proceedings.