Old naira notes remain legal tender indefinitely, Nigeria’s apex bank announces

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has announced that the old naira banknotes will remain a legal tender to be spent side-by-side with the newly introduced ones.

CBN said this in a statement signed by Isa AbdulMumin, director, corporate communications, on Tuesday.

The apex bank had introduced the redesigned N200, N500 and N1.000 denominations in October 2022 and imposed deadlines for the old design of the same denominations to cease as legal tenders.

The statement read, “Without prejudice, the Central Bank of Nigeria wishes to inform the general public of its desire to extend the legal tender status deadline of the old design of N200, N500 and N1,000 denominations; ad infinitum.

“This is in line with international best practices and to forestall a repeat of earlier experiences,” a statement signed by Isa AbdulMumin, Director, Corporate Communications, said.

“Thus, all banknotes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in accordance with Section 20(5) of the CBN Act 2007, will continue to remain legal tender, ad infinitum, even beyond the initial December 31, 2023, deadline.

“The Central Bank of Nigeria is working with the relevant authorities to vacate the subsisting court ruling on the same subject.

“Accordingly, all CBN branches across the country will continue to issue and accept all denominations of Nigerian banknotes, old and redesigned, to and from deposit money banks (DMBS).

“The general public is enjoined to continue to accept all Naira banknotes (old or redesigned) for day-to-day transactions and handle these banknotes with utmost care, to safeguard and protect the lifecycle of the banknotes.

“Also, the general public is encouraged to embrace alternative modes of payment, e-channels, forday-to-day transactions,” it said.