In accordance with a ruling made by the supreme court earlier this month, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that old banknotes will continue to be accepted as legal tender through the end of the year.
Banks have also been ordered to abide by the court’s ruling allowing old and new naira notes to be used concurrently until December 31.
Cash became scarce due to a lack of newly designed naira notes in a nation where 40% of people do not have bank accounts.
Long lines were seen at cash registers and banking halls as many people were unable to access the new banknotes. In some regions of the country, this sparked protests.
The federal government was sued in February by a few state governors who objected to the federal government’s implementation of a deadline of February 10 for the phase-out of the old notes.
Insisting that the old 500 and 1,000 naira notes were no longer valid forms of payment, President Buhari on February 16, ordered the central bank to reissue the old 200 naira notes only until 10 April.
However, the ruling of the Supreme Court nullified this directive.
The presidency refuted Monday’s claims made by the general populace that he had ordered the CBN governor and the attorney general to disregard court orders.
“The directive of the President, following the meeting of the Council of State, is that the Bank must make available for circulation all the money that is needed and nothing has happened to change the position” he said in a statement.
The higher banknotes were redesigned alast October by the central bank to combat forgery, cash hoarding, and security issues sparked by kidnappings for ransom.
Author-Roberta Appiah
