*The Central Bank of Nigeria asserts the old series N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes remain legal tender in the West African country in line with the Supreme Court order issued November 29, 2023, granting the prayer of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Honourable Minister for Justice to extend the use of old Naira banknotes ad infinitum

Isola Moses | 绿帽献妻

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has emphasised the sanctity of earlier order of the Supreme Court of Nigeria issued Wednesday, November 29, 2023, granting the prayer of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Honourable Minister for Justice to extend the use of old Naira banknotes ad infinitum.

The CBN, in a statement Mrs. Sidi Ali Hakama, Acting Director of Corporate Communications at CBN, issued October 24, 2024, said the attention of the Bank was drawn to discussions at different fora, suggesting that the old series of the N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes shall cease to be legal tender on December 31, 2024.

The Bankers’ Bank also stated: “We wish to state categorically that such claims are false and calculated to disrupt the country鈥檚 payment system.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the order of the Supreme Court of Nigeria delivered Wednesday, November 29, 2023, granting the prayer of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Honourable Minister for Justice to extend the use of old Naira banknotes ad infinitum, subsists.”

The CBN noted its directive to all its branches to continue to issue and accept all聽 denominations of Nigerian banknotes, old and re-designed, to and from Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) remains in force.

It is recalled that the Supreme Court ordered that the old series of N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes shall continue to be legal tender alongside the redesigned versions.

Accordingly, the CBN asserted that all banknotes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) 鈥渨ill continue to remain legal tender indefinitely.鈥�

The Acting Director of Corporate Communications said: “We, therefore, advise members of the public to disregard suggestions that the said series of banknotes will cease to be legal tender on December 31, 2024.

“We urge Nigerians to continue to accept all Naira banknotes (old or redesigned) for their day-to-day transactions and handle them with the utmost care to safeguard and protect their lifecycle.”

The statement added: “Furthermore, the general public is encouraged to embrace alternative modes of payment, e-channels, in order to reduce pressure on the use of physical cash.”