The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday made a u-turn in its Naira redesign policy introduced in Ocrober last year by the erstwhile Godwin Emefiele management of the apex bank.
Under the controversial policy, which saw the introduction into circulation of new redesigned N200, N500 and N1000 banknotes, the apex bank had announced that the old notes of the denominations would cease to remain legal tenders nationwide by December 31, 2023.
But barely a month and a half to the deadline, the CBN has reversed the decision, with the announcement that the old design Naira banknotes would continue to remain legal tenders ad infinitumc0 till further notice.
In a statement announcing the reversal of the policy, the Bank, through its Director, Corporate Communications, Isa AbdulMumin, stated: “Please, recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria introduced the redesign of N200, N500 and N1,000 denominations in October 2022 and certain deadlines were set for the old design of these denominations to cease as legal tenders.
“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 and N1,000 denominations, ad infinitum.
“This is in line with international best practices and to forestall a repeat of earlier experiences. Thus, all banknotes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in accordance with Section 20(5) of the CBN Act 2007, will continue to remain legal tender, ad infinitum, even beyond the initial December 31, 2023, deadline.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria is working with the relevant authorities to vacate the subsisting court ruling on the same subject.
“Accordingly, all CBN branches across the country will continue to issue and accept all denominations of Nigerian banknotes, old and redesigned, to and from Deposit Money Banks (DMBs).
The general public is enjoined to continue to accept all Naira banknotes (old or redesigned) for day-to-day transactions and handle these banknotes with utmost care, to safeguard and protect the lifecycle of the banknotes.”
AbdulMumin used the statement to enjoin the general public to be encouraged to embrace alternative modes of payment, e-channels, for their day-to-day transactions.
The decided by the apex bank to reverse its policy on the redesign of the Naira notes may not be unconnected with the continued scarcity of the banknotes in banks across the country.
On Monday, the situation worsened, as most bank branches began to fix withdrawal limits for customers in need of cash to carry out their transactions, while encouraging the use of electronic payment channels instead.
It’s not clear why the scarcity of banknotes has persisted, even as the CBN has continued to allay fears about alleged insufficient supply of Naira notes in the system, especially at various business places across the country, including ATMs, PoS, and Bureaux de Change (BDCs).
