President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Central Bank of Nigeria to release back into circulation the old 200 banknotes and allows them to circulate as legal tender with the new N200, N500, and N1000 banknotes for 60 days from February 10 to April 10 2023 when the old N200 notes cease to be legal tender.
The President disclosed this in a nationwide broadcast to address the difficulty faced by Nigerians in accessing the redesigned naira note.
Buhari in his address, however, said the old 500 and 1000 notes cease to be legal tender from February 10, 2023, and Nigerians should approach the CBN or designated points to swap them.
The President’s directives contravene the interim ruling of the Supreme court which held that the old 200, 500 and 1000 notes remain legal tender until February 22, 2023, when it is expected to rule on a suit brought before it by some state governors challenging the February 10 deadline for the use of old naira notes.
The CBN had in October 2022, announced the redesign of the 200, 500 and 1000 naira notes stating that the policy is aimed at mopping up excess money outside the banking sector, controlling money supply, reducing inflation and money-related crimes such as vote buying, corruption, kidnapping and terrorism financing.
The apex bank had issued January 31, 2023, as the deadline for which the old notes cease to be legal tender but extended the date to February 10, 2023, following complaints by Nigerians due to scarcity of the new naira note.
