The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced an indefinite removal of the deadline on the circulation of the old N200, N500, and N1000 naira notes.
This was revealed on Tuesday in a statement signed by the Director of Corporate Communications, Dr Isa Abdulmumi.
Abdulmumin explained that this decision is in line with international best practices and that all banknotes issued by the CBN, in accordance with section 20(5) of the CBN Act 2007 will continue to remain the legal tender of the country.
“Without prejudice, the Central Bank of Nigeria wishes to inform the general public of its desire to extend the legal tender status deadline of the old design of N200,N500, N1000 denominations; ad infinity. This is in line with international best practices and to forestall a repeat of earlier experience” Abdulmum says.
Recall in October 2022, the CBN introduced the redesigned naira notes and announced that from the 31st of January, the old naira notes would cease being the legal tender. Which was later extended to February 10, 2023.
Amidst this period, individuals and organizations experienced constrained over-the-counter withdrawals, capped at N100,000 and N500,000 per week, respectively. This cash withdrawal restriction strategy was steering the nation towards a cashless economy trajectory.
The deadline was then moved till the 31st of December 2023 to enable proper circulation of the new notes before the next deadline was due.
The statement also enjoined the general public to continue to accept the old or redesigned naira notes for day-to-day transactions, as all CBN branches across Nigeria will continue to accept and issue both denominations.
