CBN reaffirms commitment to gradual phasing out of old Naira notes

The Central Bank of Nigeria has reaffirmed its commitment to gradually phase out the old N200, N500, and N1,000 naira notes while issuing new currencies.

This announcement was made by the acting governor of the apex bank, Folashodun Shonubi, during the Monetary Policy Committee meeting held at the CBN headquarters in Abuja.

In October 2022, Godwin Emefiele, the former CBN governor, unveiled plans to redesign the N200, N500, and N1,000 naira bills.

As part of the initiative, he called on Nigerians to deposit their old notes before January 31, 2023, as they would cease to be legal tender after that date.

However, the CBN disclosed that the former president, Muhammadu Buhari, had approved an extension of the deadline for the use of the old notes and in March 2023, the Supreme Court invalidated the naira redesign policy, ruling that the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes would remain as legal tender until December 31, 2023.

Providing updates on the policy during the recent MPC meeting, Folashodun Shonubi observed that the old notes would gradually be replaced over time, noting, whenever commercial banks request new currency, the old notes are exchanged for the new ones, ensuring a smooth transition.

Shonubi explained, “When a currency is printed and sent out, it is expected to go through a number of cycles and be replaced over time. That’s what we’re doing. We are slowly and over time replacing the old notes with new ones.”