Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has debunked online reports making rounds, claiming the apex bank has approved the circulation of old naira notes till December 31, 2023.
Isa Abdulmumim, acting director corporate communications, who spoke with BusinessDay on Wednesday declared the report as ‘fake news’.
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The report quoted him as saying he confirmed the development, saying both the old and new notes are legal tender and banks are currently issuing to customers.
He urged Nigerians to disregard it and avoid purveyors of ‘fake news’.
Some banks have continued to pay their customers with old high naira value despite the Supreme Court’s ruling.
BusinessDay gathered that the banks that were paying were the ones that still have the old naira in their vaults, as the CBN has not yet issued a directive on the matter.
We have close to a million naira of the old N500 and N1,000 notes we received from customers. If we get a directive to start recirculating the old notes we will commence immediately with the old notes we have,” a bank staff member who is not allowed to comment on the issue said.
She stated:
I think that is what other banks are also doing. They are circulating the old N500 and N1,000 notes. We are yet to receive any directive from the CBN, so the apex bank will not be supplying the old notes.
The CBN announced the currency redesign policy in October, and the new notes were released in mid-December. People were initially given until January 31, 2023 to deposit the old notes, but this was extended to February 10, 2023 amid the chaotic scenes.
According to her, the Supreme Court ruled that not enough notice was given to the public before the old notes were withdrawn, and not enough of the new notes were released, leading to widespread anger and frustration. Many people could not get cash to pay for food and slept outside banks.
The court also said the correct process had not been followed.
