No One Should Refuse Accepting Old Naira Notes As Means Of Payment- CBN Reiterates

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has told Nigerians to continue collecting old and new Naira notes, reiterating that all banknotes remain legal tender.

The apex bank’s comment comes as Nigerians continue to scramble for new notes ahead of the December 31st date fixed during the previous administration to phase out the old naira note.

“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 (CBN) remains legal tender and should not be rejected by anyone as stipulated in Section 20 (5) of the CBN Act, 2007,” the statement partly read.

Clarifying that both the old and new notes remain legal tender in a statement on Wednesday, the apex bank disclosed that all branches of CBN across the country had been directed to continue issuing different denominations of both the old notes and the redesigned ones to deposit money.

Recall that the immediate past CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, introduced a redesigned naira note in the buildup to the 2023 general election.

The Emefiele-led CBN announced plans to phase out the old naira note; the embattled CBN governor also placed an embargo on withdrawal limits, which was later reviewed.

Emefiele explained that the move was taken to encourage cashless policy and to discourage vote-buying at the general elections in 2023.