Old naira notes remain legal tender- CBN insists

By Biola Adebayo On Nov 8, 2023

Old, naira notes , Fake, Nigerians, CBN, Warn — Old and new naira notes

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Wednesday warned against the rejection of any bank notes it has issued in line with the provision of the CBN Act 2007.

The CBN said this amidst fears that the old banknotes may cease to be legal tender by December 2023 which has led to its rejection in some parts of the country.

This was contained in a statement issued on Wednesday and signed by CBN Director, Corporate Communication, Dr. Isah Abdulmunin.

The apex bank in the statement said that it has not ordered the withdrawal of the old notes.

It said, “There have also been reports of anxiety among some members of the public over the legality or otherwise of old Naira banknotes.

“For the avoidance of doubt, while reiterating that there are sufficient banknotes across the country for all normal economic activity, we wish to state unambiguously that every banknote issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria remains legal tender and should not be rejected by anyone, as stipulated in Section 20(5) of the CBN Act, 2007.”

The CBN said it has directed all its branches across the country to continue to issue different denominations of old and redesigned banknotes in adequate quantities to deposit money banks (DMBs) for onward circulation to bank customers.

The apex bank said, “We wish to restate that all denominations of banknotes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria remain legal tender.

“In line with Section 20(5) of the CBN Act, 2007, no one should refuse to accept the Naira as a means of payment. Consequently, members of the public are advised to accept all CBN-issued banknotes currently in circulation and guard against panic withdrawals.”

The bank also reaffirmed that there is sufficient stock of currency notes to facilitate normal economic activities in the country.