No deadline on circulation of old naira notes, CBN assures Nigerians

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has dismissed reports suggesting that the old series of the N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes will cease to be legal tender by the end of this year.

This is disclosed in a press statement issued Thursday by the bank’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Sidi Hakama.

This comes after the House of Representatives asked the CBN to issue more new ₦200, ₦500, and ₦1,000 notes and begin the gradual withdrawal of the old notes from circulation before the deadline of 31 December.

The bank stated that there is no deadline for the circulation of the old naira notes, adding that such claims are false and intended to disrupt the country’s financial system.

The CBN reaffirmed the Supreme Court’s ruling on 29 November 2023, which extended the validity of the old naira notes indefinitely.

The court granted the Attorney-General of the Federation’s request to allow the continued use of old notes, following the challenges associated with the redesign of the naira.

According to the CBN, the directive remains in force, and all deposit money banks have been instructed to continue accepting and issuing both old and new denominations.

The bank further urged Nigerians to disregard any claims that the old series will be phased out by 31 December. Instead, it encouraged the public to handle all naira banknotes carefully, regardless of their design, in order to maintain their quality.

Background

In October 2022, the CBN launched a currency swap policy that brought widespread hardship to Nigerians nationwide.

In response to these challenges, several state governments took legal action against the federal government, appealing to the Supreme Court to overturn the policy.

As the deadline for the affected currency notes approached, the Federal Government sought another extension from the Supreme Court.

In March 2023, a seven-judge panel of the Supreme Court, led by John Okoro, instructed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to continue accepting the old notes until 31 December 2023.

The court ruled that former President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive to redesign the notes and withdraw the old ones without proper consultation was unlawful.

Delivering the lead judgement, Emmanuel Agim, a member of the panel, criticised the president for disregarding the court’s earlier order on 8 February, which mandated the continued use of the old notes.

At November 2023’s proceedings, the Supreme Court panel led by John Okoro, ruled that the old notes remain legal tender until they are replaced with the redesigned notes.

According to Mr Okoro, the old notes would co-exist as legal tender with the redesigned ones.

Mr Okoro said, “The old versions of 200, 500, 1000 naira notes/currency shall continue to be legal tenders alongside the new or designed versions until the government decides to bring the circulation of the old versions to an end after its consultation with critical stakeholders and after putting all required structures in place.”