The old Naira denominations of N200, N500, and N1,000 notes will coexist with the new notes until further notice, according to a ruling by the Supreme Court on Wednesday. According to the court, both the old and new notes should be accepted as legal tender after December 31 until the Federal Government, after consulting with all relevant parties, establishes a procedure for replacing or redesigning them.
On March 3, the Nigerian Central Bank was ordered by the Supreme Court not to implement the deadline for using outdated notes. On November 14, however, the CBN decided to permanently prolong the validity of the previous N200, N500, and N1,000 notes.
The CBN redesigned the N200, N500, and N1.000 denominations in October 2022 and established timelines for when the previous designs would no longer be accepted as legal money.
On Wednesday, the CBN instructed all of its branches to keep issuing and accepting old and redesigned Nigerian banknotes in all denominations to and from deposit money banks. The directive may be found in a statement that Sidi Hakama, the acting director of corporate communications at the apex bank, signed.
She stated, “For the avoidance of doubt, the Supreme Court ordered that the old versions of the N200, N500 and N1,000 shall continue to be legal tender, alongside the re-designed versions.
“Accordingly, in line with Section 20(5) of the CBN Act 2007, all banknotes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), will continue to remain legal tender, indefinitely.
“Members of the public are enjoined to continue to accept all Naira banknotes (old or redesigned) for their day-to-day transactions and handle these banknotes with the utmost care, to safeguard and protect the lifecycle of the banknotes
“The CBN further urged Nigerians to embrace alternative modes of payment, e-channels in order to reduce pressure on the use of physical cash.”
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