No More December: CBN addresses Nigerians on the expiration date for old Naira Notes

•  CBN addresses Nigerians on the expiration date for old naira notes. They made it clear on the expiration date for some old naira notes like 200, 500, and 1,000.
• In March 2023, the Supreme Court announced that old naira notes will remain legal tender in Nigeria till December 31, 2023.
• Now, it is two months to the expiration date and rumours of cash scarcity have popped up again irrespective of the high money supply in the country.

The Central of Bank Nigeria has stated that even after December 31, 2023, the old naira notes of 200, 500, and 1,000

A senior officer, who spoke on merit, guaranteed Nigerians that both old and new naira notes will still be considered to be in circulation after December 31, 2023. Though it was reported, following the Supreme Court verdict, the CBN declared that the old naira notes won’t be in circulation after December 31.

Following the Supreme Court adjudication, CBN declared that the old naira notes will no longer be in circulation after December 31, 2023.

CBN Speaks on Old Naira Note

The concerns expressed by Nigerian citizens just two months before the deadline and also the scarcity of cash in the two states, the CBN official responded and officially encouraged Nigerians not to panic.

He said:

“They are all legal tenders. Nigerians should continue to spend them. There is no need to worry about the December 31 deadline”.

The CBN official also emphasized that phasing out of the old banknote would be a gradual process to avoid increasing additional hardship for the citizens.

The Official guaranteed:

“We won’t want Nigerians to undergo similar pains as they experienced earlier this year. The phasing out of old naira notes will be gradual. It won’t be rushed”.

Old Naira Notes protest

A report came that the former governor of CBN, Emefiele Godwin disclosed plans to redesign the 200, 500, and 1,000 notes in October 2022.

The announcement was coupled with instructions to citizens to go and deposit their old naira note before January 31, 2023, as they would seized to be legal tender and lose their value after the date.

However, this instruction led to cash scarcity in February leading to hardship for citizens and prompted protests and bank attacks in some parts of the country.

Therefore, there are concerns that it may repeat the two months remaining until the Supreme Court December deadline.

Tinubu’s Government Sets ‘Fair’ Naira to Dollar Exchange Rate Target by December 2023

President Tinubu has set an exchange rate target for naira before December 2023.

Numerous corrections and certifications have been introduced, and it is anticipated that the dollar supply will reduce the pressure. Naira continues to exchange at the lowest level in history at both the official and unofficial markets.