The Old Naira notes will continue to be accepted as lawful money in Nigeria until further notice, the Nigeria Supreme Court said on Wednesday.
Remember that the date for phase-out of old Naira notes was extended by the top court to December 31, 2023, in March 2023?
On November 21, 2023, the federal government also submitted a request for an extension of the old naira note.
The federal administration clarified that the country may once again face the possibility of a national, economic, and financial catastrophe if the Supreme Court denies its request to prolong the period of time that old notes may be circulated.
Read Also: Nigeria Lost $1.4bn in 4 Years Over CBN FX Ban On 43 items – Cardoso
This scenario parallels the challenges witnessed in the initial quarter of the year during the implementation of the naira redesign policy under the former Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
It therefore asked the court to allow the old notes to be in use with the new notes until after it consults with stakeholders, pointing out that the economy may be in jeopardy once again because some Nigerians have started hoarding the old and new naira notes ahead of the December 31st timeline.
In its ruling today, the highest court ruled in Abuja that the notes will remain legal tender and be accepted for transaction until further notice.
Earlier this month, the Central Bank issued a circular noting that the Old naira notes remain legal tender indefinitely.
Read Also: Naira Fails To Gain Against Dropping U.S dollar in 3 month low
The CBN’s Director of Corporate Communications, Dr Isa AbdulMumin, shared this information, effectively removing the deadline for the legal tender status of old N200, N500, and N1000 notes from the initial December 31, 2023.
The statement read: “Please recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria introduced the redesign of N200, N500 and N1,000 denominations in October 2022 and certain deadlines were set for the old design of these denominations to cease as legal tenders.
“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.
“Thus, all banknotes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), by 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.”
The CBN added that all its branches across the country will continue to issue and accept all denominations of Nigerian banknotes, old and redesigned, to and from banks.
