The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reaffirmed that all denominations of Naira banknotes, including old and new designs, will remain valid as legal tender indefinitely.
This clarification comes amidst circulating misinformation regarding the validity of old Naira notes.
In a statement released on Friday by the CBN’s Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Mrs. Sidi Ali Hakama, the bank reiterated its commitment to the Supreme Court ruling of November 29, 2023.
According to Mrs. Ali Hakama, the ruling permits the concurrent circulation of all versions of the N1,000, N500, and N200 denominations indefinitely.
“In line with the bank’s previous clarifications and to offer further assurance, the CBN wishes to state that, the subsisting Supreme Court ruling granted on November 29, 2023, permits the concurrent circulation of all versions of the N1,000, N500, and N200 denominations of the Naira indefinitely.
The statement goes thus; “For the avoidance of doubt, all versions of the Naira, including the old and new designs of N1,000, N500, and N200 denominations, as well as the commemorative and previous designs of the N100 denomination, remain valid and continue to be legal tender without any deadline,”
The CBN called on the public to ignore rumours suggesting that old Naira notes would cease to be legal tender by December 31, 2024.
“We, therefore, advise the public to disregard any claims that the old series of the aforementioned banknotes will cease to be legal tender on December 31, 2024,” Hakama stated.
The CBN also urged Nigerians to continue accepting all Naira notes (both old and new) for their daily transactions while handling them with care to ensure their longevity.
In addition to addressing the validity of the Naira notes, the CBN encouraged Nigerians to embrace alternative payment methods to reduce reliance on physical cash.
The bank also emphasized the importance of utilizing electronic payment channels to ease pressure on cash usage, a move aligned with its ongoing efforts to promote financial inclusion and modernize Nigeria’s payment systems.
For information sake, it is pertinent to note that; On the 26 October, 2022, the immediate past Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, announced the redesign of the highest denominations of the Naira — N200, N500, and N1,000 notes.
The initial deadline for Nigerians to deposit the old notes in exchange for the new ones was set for January 31, 2023.
The CBN justified the redesign by stating that it would help curb corruption, reduce currency fraud, address the growing menace of kidnapping for ransom, lower inflation, and tackle the issue of excessive money in circulation.
However, despite an extension of the deadline, the policy led to a severe cash scarcity that significantly disrupted daily life for many Nigerians between March and April 2023.