Following the Supreme Court judgment, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), through its spokesman, Isa Abdulmumin, has ordered Nigerians and banks to collect both old and new Naira notes of N200, N500 and N1000 denominations, saying that old notes are now legal tender.
According to Abdulmumin, commercial banks have begun to issue old notes to their customers at their various Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) terminals and over the counter.
The CBN spokesman said even though the CBN is yet to issue an official statement on the matter, Nigerians can now collect both the old and new naira notes.
He further stated that the apex bank just wants to make life easy for Nigerians and has directed commercial banks to obey the supreme court ruling, which extended the validity period of the old notes to December 2023.
He said;
“Banks are paying old notes as well as new notes. They are all legal tender.
“Yes, the CBN has not issued an official statement on the issue. Anyone banks give to you, you can collect. We just want to make life easy for Nigerians.”
Abdulmumin was worried about the continued rejection of the old notes by some traders and transporters, saying that old notes should not be rejected as they are now a valid means of exchange.
“No. They can’t reject it. It’s all legal tender.”
Recall that some states in Nigeria had dragged the Federal Government before the Supreme court over the scarcity of naira notes due to CBN redesign policy.