The Central Bank of Nigeria has directed all its branches to continue to issue and accept all denominations of Nigerian banknotes, both old and re-designed ones, to and from deposit money banks.
The directive followed the order of the Supreme Court of Nigeria on Wednesday, granting the prayer of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation to extend the use of old Naira banknotes indefinitely.
The Supreme Court had ordered that the old versions of N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes should continue to be legal tender, alongside the re-designed versions.
“Accordingly, in line with Section 20(5) of the CBN Act 2007, all banknotes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), will continue to remain legal tender, indefinitely.
“Members of the public are enjoined to continue to accept all Naira banknotes (old or redesigned) for their day-to-day transactions and handle these banknotes with the utmost care, to safeguard and protect the lifecycle of the banknotes,” the acting director, corporate communications department at the apex bank, Sidi Ali Hakama, said in a statement on Wednesday.
The CBN also encouraged the public to embrace alternative modes of payment, electronic channels, in order to reduce pressure on the use of physical cash.