Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, has reaffirmed that lower naira denominations, including the ₦5, ₦10, ₦20, ₦50, and ₦100 notes, remain legal tender across the country.
Cardoso made the clarification on Tuesday while addressing journalists after the 306th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja.
Responding to concerns over the apparent scarcity of the lower denominations in circulation, the CBN governor attributed the situation to market demand and supply dynamics rather than any policy decision to phase out the notes.
“They are still legal tender. To the extent that the Central Bank has not said otherwise, please assume they are legal tender,” Cardoso said.
He added, “The question as to why we do not have as many of them in circulation as may be perceived is a question of demand and supply, quite frankly.”
His remarks come amid growing public speculation over the status of the lower naira notes due to their limited availability in everyday transactions.
Meanwhile, the Monetary Policy Committee retained the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 26.50 per cent for the second consecutive meeting, citing the need to sustain efforts aimed at consolidating the recent decline in inflation, which eased to 15.91 per cent in June.
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