Emefiele finally declares old 500,1000 legal tender

Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, bowed to pressure on Monday and formally ordered commercial banks to follow the Supreme Court’s ruling, which ordered the use of old N, 1000 and N 500 notes as legal tender until December 31, 2023.

Additionally, he declared that the old N200, N500, and N1,000 will continue to be accepted as payment until the end of the year.

Emefiele claimed that the choice was made in response to a Sunday meeting with the Bankers’ Committee.

The misunderstanding regarding the legitimacy of the old naira notes has been resolved as a result of the development. The move is also anticipated to lessen the suffering of Nigerians who have experienced great challenges due to a shortage of new naira notes in the wake of the contentious restriction on the use of older notes.

The latest development was announced in a statement headed “Old N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes remain legal money – CBN” by Isa AbdulMumin, acting director of corporate communications.

The statement read, “In compliance with the established tradition of obedience to court orders and sustenance of the rule of law principle that characterised the government of President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), and by extension, the operations of the Central Bank of Nigeria, as a regulator, Deposit Money Banks operating in Nigeria have been directed to comply with the Supreme Court ruling of March 3, 2023.

“Accordingly, the CBN met with the Bankers’ Committee and has directed that the old N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes remain legal tender alongside the redesigned banknotes till December 31, 2023. Consequently, all concerned are directed to conform accordingly.”

The Federal Government and the CBN were criticized earlier on Monday by the Nigerian Bar Association and the Nigeria Labour Congress for disobeying the Supreme Court’s ruling over the old naira notes.

In a statement released on Sunday, the Arewa Consultative Forum warned that Buhari’s government’s reputation would suffer if it disobeyed the Supreme Court.

Abubakar Malami, the Attorney-General of the Federation, and the President both received harsh criticism from the NBA for disobeying the Supreme Court’s ruling.

The old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes were made legal tender until December 31 by the Supreme Court in its decision from March 3.