old naira notes remain legal tender - CBN

Amid the fear that the old banknotes may cease to be legal tender by December 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria has affirmed that all naira notes remain legal tender. The apex bank warned against rejection of the old notes, saying it has not ordered the withdrawal of the old banknotes.

It would be recalled that earlier in the year, the Supreme Court, during the cash crisis occasioned by the CBN’s redesign of the higher denomination notes — 200, 500 and 1,000, had ordered that old notes remained valid till December 31, 2023.

As December approaches, the ruling is causing anxiety over the legality of the old notes.

Addressing the development, the apex bank in a statement on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, said no banknotes should be rejected by anyone.

In the statement signed by its Director of Corporate Communication, Isah Abdulmunin, the CBN said all its branches across the country have been directed to continue issuing both the old and the redesigned notes.