Are the old Naira notes valid or not?
When the idea to introduce new Naira notes came to light in October 2022, it was meant to be Nigeria furthering its cashless policy initiative if not for the implementation heading towards the wrong direction.
Having experienced agonising Naira notes shortages at the beginning of the year, Nigerians are apparently drawn to conversations around their validity. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which in the past faced criticism for its handling of a recent currency facelift has put out a statement simply to assure them.
Nigerians may feel like they have reasons to be concerned based on past administrative failures. Approaching the 2023 General Elections, the CBN under the leadership of Governor Godwin Emefiele had announced a Naira redesign policy because it was statutory to do so.
What was inappropriate, however, was the implementation, which brought on fatalities due to the resulting cash scarcity. Eventually, following the intervention of 16 states of the federation in a class action suit, a Supreme Court verdict ruled that the earlier deadlines stipulated by the bank and Mr Muhammadu Buhari who was the President of Nigeria at the time, were illegal. And so, the due date for old ₦200, ₦500, and ₦1,000 notes to remain valid was shifted to December 31, 2023.
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Now that the expiration of the court ruling is getting nearer, Nigerians have been alerted because they do not want to be caught off guard and they have been told that they need not worry.
A tweet via the CBN’s X platform on Wednesday, 8 November, confirmed this, likewise through a website-released press information.
“We wish to restate that all denominations of banknotes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) remain legal tender. In line with Section 20(5) of the CBN Act, 2007, no one should refuse to accept the Naira as a means of payment.
“Consequently, members of the public are advised to accept all CBN-issued banknotes currently in circulation and guard against panic withdrawals. We reaffirm that there is sufficient stock of currency notes to facilitate normal economic activities.”
All Banknotes Issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Remain Legal Tender. #NairaBankNotes pic.twitter.com/x8WotrLp54
— Central Bank of Nigeria (@cenbank) November 8, 2023
When the idea to introduce new Naira notes came to light in October 2022, it was meant to be Nigeria furthering its cashless policy initiative by reducing the amount in circulation which would then encourage newly devised payment solutions including bank transfer or the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) to thrive.
But not every Nigerian got to be onboarded before the 31 January 2022 expiry date for the depositing of old Naira by bank customers and that created problems both for the ordinary people and the policymakers. By sending out words of assurance, the CBN would feel like it is finally walking away from past darkness.
Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.
