The Central Bank of Nigeria has directed all banks branches to issue and accept all denominations of Naira banknotes, old and re-designed.
The Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Ali Hakama, disclosed conveyed the directive in a statement on Wednesday.
The directive followed the order of the Supreme Court on Wednesday, granting the prayer of the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation to extend the use of old Naira banknotes ad infinitum.
In the judgment, the court maintained that the old and new notes should remain as legal tender beyond December 31 until the Federal Government puts a process in place for their replacement or redesign after due consultation with relevant stakeholders.
The statement partly read, “For the avoidance of doubt, the Supreme Court ordered that the old versions of N200, 500, and N1,000 banknotes 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, will continue to remain legal tender, indefinitely.”
The statement further enjoined members of the public, “To accept all Naira banknotes (old or re- designed) for their day-to-day transactions and handle these banknotes with the utmost care, to safeguard and protect the lifecycle of the banknotes.
“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.”
The apex bank has had to clear the air on the naira following a March ruling by the Supreme Court that asked the CBN to allow old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes to continue as legal tender till December 31, 2023, after the bank announced a new naira design policy and expiration dates for the denominations.
