The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has ordered banks to issue and accept both the old and redesigned Naira banknotes as legal tender.
The directive followed the order of the Supreme Court on Wednesday granting the prayer of the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation to extend the use of old Naira banknotes indefinitely.
The CBN, through a statement issued by the Director, Corporate Communications, Mrs. Sidi Ali Hakama, said the apex bank has directed 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 version.
“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,” the statement said.
The bank urged members of the public to continue to accept all Naira banknotes (old or redesigned) for their day-to-day transactions and handle these banknotes with the utmost care, to safeguard and protect the lifecycle of the banknotes.
“Furthermore, the general public is encouraged to embrace alternative modes of payment, e-channels, in order to reduce pressure on the use of physical cash,” it added.