The Central Bank of Nigeria has said contrary to December 31, 2023 deadline for the withdrawal of note Naira notes, both the old and new notes will continue without a deadline.

The Apex Bank in a statement by it’s spokesman, Isa AbdulMumin said the decision is in line with international best practices
and to forestall a repeat of earlier experiences.

AbdulMumin said the bank authorities are working to vacate precious ruling by the court which limits the recognition of the old bank notes to the end of the current year.

“All banknotes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in accordance with Section 20(5) of the CBN Act 2007, will continue to remain legal tender, ad infinitum,
even beyond the initial December 31, 2023, deadline. The Central Bank of Nigeria is working with the relevant authorities to vacate the subsisting court ruling on the same subject.

“Accordingly, all CBN branches across the country will continue to issue and accept all denominations of Nigerian banknotes, old and redesigned, to and from deposit
money banks (DMBs)”, he said.

The statement further urged Nigerians to continue to spend and accept both old and redesigned notes in their daily transactions.

“The general public is enjoined to continue to accept all Naira banknotes (old or redesigned) for day-to-day transactions and handle these banknotes with utmost care, to safeguard and protect the lifecycle of the banknotes. Also, the general public is encouraged to embrace alternative modes of payment, e-channels, for
day-to-day transactions”, he noted.

Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria introduced the redesign of N200, N500 and N1,000 denominations in October 2022 and certain deadlines were set for the
old design of these denominations to cease as legal tenders.