News Highlights:
- The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) confirmed that old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes will continue to circulate indefinitely.
- The CBN urged Nigerians to continue accepting all naira banknotes and encouraged the use of electronic payment methods to reduce reliance on physical cash.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has confirmed it has no plans to stop the circulation of old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes by December 31, 2024.
This announcement comes as the House of Representatives urged the CBN to phase out these notes and increase the issuance of redesigned denominations.
At a House plenary, Hon. Afam Ogene raised concerns over CBN’s lack of public awareness on the transition, emphasizing the importance of preparing Nigerians for the eventual phasing out of old notes.
The House also called on commercial banks to stop dispensing old naira notes and begin gradually mopping them up.
In response, the CBN, via a statement by Mrs. Sidi-Ali Hakama, Acting Director of Corporate Communications, clarified that all banknotes—both old and redesigned—will remain legal tender indefinitely, aligning with the Supreme Court’s ruling from November 2023, which upheld the legal status of old notes indefinitely.
According to her, “We, therefore, advise members of the public to disregard suggestions that the said series of banknotes will cease to be legal tender on December 31, 2024.
“We urge Nigerians to continue to accept all Naira banknotes (old or redesigned) for their day-to-day transactions and handle them with the utmost care to safeguard and protect their lifecycle.
“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.”
The CBN further encouraged Nigerians to adopt electronic payment methods to ease cash demand.
On November 14, 2023, the CBN announced the extension of the legal tender status of the old N200, N500, and N1, 000 denominations beyond the December 31, 2023 deadline – and with no definite time frame for their retirement.
