In response to mounting concerns surrounding the legal status of old Naira notes, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has officially clarified that both old and new Naira banknotes remain legal tender throughout the country.
This statement comes as a response to earlier deadlines set by the previous administration, which had caused widespread uncertainty among the public.
As per an official statement issued by the CBN in Abuja, the apex bank has instructed its branches across Nigeria to continue issuing all denominations of the Naira without discrimination.
The statement emphasized that there is an ample supply of currency in all locations across the country to support regular economic activities.
The CBN’s statement reads in full, “Our attention has again been drawn to reports of a scarcity of cash across some major cities in the country despite assurances of sufficient cash stocks in all locations across the country.
There have also been reports of anxiety among some members of the public over the legality or otherwise of old Naira bank notes.
For the avoidance of doubt, while reiterating that there are sufficient bank notes across the country for all normal economic activity, we wish to state unambiguously that every bank note issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) remains legal tender and should not be rejected by anyone, as stipulated in Section 20(5) of the CBN Act, 2007.
Accordingly, branches of the CBN across the country have been directed to continue to issue different denominations of old and redesigned bank notes in adequate quantities to deposit money banks (DMBs) for onward circulation to bank customers.
We wish to restate that all denominations of banknotes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) 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 bank notes currently in circulation and guard against panic withdrawals. We reaffirm that there is sufficient stock of currency notes to facilitate normal economic activities. Furthermore, to reduce the pressure on the use of physical cash, members of the public are again advised to continue to embrace alternative modes of payment.”