Supreme Court reaffirms CBN directive, insists banks to issue, accept old, redesigned Naira – ITREALMS

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The Supreme Court of Nigeria on Wednesday, November 29, 2023, granted the Central Bank of Nigeria extension order on the use of the of old Naira banknotes ad infinitum, reports ITREALMS.

With this, Supreme Court has reaffirmed CBN recent directive on the use of both old and redesigned notes beyond December 31, 2023.

This also followed the order of the Supreme Court on Wednesday, November 29, 2023, granting the prayer of the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation to extend the use of old Naira banknotes ad infinitum.

According to the press statement available to ITREALMS by the acting Director, Corporate Communications at CBN, Mrs. Ali Sidi Ali, Hakama, the apex bank has reiterated its direction to all its branches to continue to issue and accept all denominations of Nigerian banknotes, old and re-designed, to and from deposit money banks (DMBs).

“For the avoidance of doubt, the Supreme Court ordered that the old versions of N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes shall continue to be legal tender, alongside the re-designed versions. Accordingly, in line with Section 20(5) of the CBN Act 2007, all banknotes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), will continue to remain legal tender, indefinitely,” she said.

CBN, therefore, enjoined members of the public to continue to accept all Naira banknotes (old or re- designed) for their day-to-day transactions and handle these banknotes with the utmost care, to safeguard and protect the lifecycle of the banknotes.

The general public, she advised, is encouraged to embrace alternative modes of payment, e- channels, in order to reduce pressure on the use of physical cash.


Remmy Nweke/DoP