The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes are still valid until December 31, 2023.
Isa AbdulMumin, the acting director of corporate communications for the apex bank, made this disclosure in a statement on Monday.
Ten days prior, the Supreme Court had ordered that old and new naira notes should coexist until the end of the year.
“In compliance with the established tradition of obedience to court orders and sustenance of the Rule of Law Principle that characterized the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, and by extension, the operations of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as a regulator, Deposit Money Banks operating in Nigeria have been directed to comply with the Supreme Court ruling of March 3, 2023.
“Accordingly, the CBN met with the Bankers’ Committee and has directed that the old N200, N500 and N1000 banknotes remain legal tender alongside the redesigned banknotes till December 31, 2023.
“Consequently, all concerned are directed to conform accordingly,” the statement read.
Old N200, N500, and N1000 notes will be legal tender through December 31, 2023, according to a ruling by the nation’s highest court on March 3.
This came about after a lawsuit was filed by 16 Federation states challenging the legality or otherwise of the policy’s introduction.
The 16 states, led by Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara, had asked the supreme court to nullify and set down the policy because it was putting innocent Nigerians through hardship.
After that, the Supreme Court decided that President Muhammadu Buhari had violated the Constitution of the Federation by ordering the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to redesign the Naira in violation of its order from February 8, which was an indication of dictatorship.
The Presidency, CBN, and AGF remained silent following the Supreme Court’s ruling on March 3, confusing many bank customers and Nigerians because the ruling of the top court ran counter to the President’s order from February 16 that old N500 and N1000 notes are banned but old N200 notes are still valid until April 10.
The Presidency, however, broke its quiet on Monday, claiming that the President never instructed the CBN and the AGF to disregard the supreme court’s ruling.
“The CBN has no reason not to comply with court orders on the excuse of waiting for directives from the President,” the Presidency noted.
The Presidency also said the President is an absolute respecter of the rule of law and that the “negative campaign and personalised attacks against the President by the opposition and all manner of commentators is unfair and unjust.”