The Acting Director of Corporate Communications at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Isa Abdulmumin, has announced that both the old and new Naira notes are now legal tender in Nigeria.
Last week, the Supreme Court gave its verdict on the Naira redesign, directing the federal government to allow the validity of N200, N500, and N1000 notes until December 31st.
Dr. Isa Abdulmumin confirmed that commercial banks have started issuing both old and new notes to their customers, although the CBN is yet to issue an official statement. He further stated that banks are accepting both old and new notes as legal tender and are making it easy for Nigerians to use them.
In his words, "Banks are paying old notes as well as new notes. They are all legal tender. Yes, the CBN has not issued an official statement on the issue. Anyone banks give to you, you can collect. We just want to make life easy for Nigerians. No. They can't reject it. It's all legal tender."
The move to declare both old and new Naira notes as legal tender is expected to ease the burden on Nigerians who may have accumulated a significant amount of old notes due to the recent redesign of the Naira. This will also ensure that the value of the old notes is not lost, as they can now be used alongside the new notes until the end of the year.
