It is official: The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has complied with the judgement of the Supreme Court which ordered that the old N200, N500 and N1,000 remain legal tender till December 31, 2023.
CBN’s Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Isa Abdulmumin, in a statement on Monday March 13, said the nation’s apex bank has directed commercial banks to start accepting the old naira notes.
“In compliance with the established tradition of obedience to court orders and sustenance of the Rule of Law Principle that characterized the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, and by extension, the operations of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), 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 N1000 banknotes remain legal tender alongside the redesigned banknotes till December 31, 2023.
“Consequently, all concerned are directed to conform accordingly,” the statement read.
The Supreme Court had on March 3rd ruled that the old notes remain legal tender till December 2023.
Since then, the CBN and Federal Government kept mum on the matter.
It took bashings from the public for the Presidency to issue a statement on Monday blaming the CBN for non-implementation of the court order.
The Presidency’s statement must have compelled the CBN to issue the press release.
The Presidency had declared that the CBN has no reason not to comply with the order of the Supreme Court on naira policy.
The Presidency stated that President Muhammadu Buhari cannot be blamed for CBN’s failure to enforce the orders on the excuse of waiting for directives from the President.
“It is therefore wide off the mark to blame the President for the current controversy over the cash scarcity, despite the Supreme Court judgement. The CBN has no reason not to comply with court orders on the excuse of waiting for directives from the President.
“President Buhari has also rejected the impression that he lacks compassion, saying that “no government in our recent history has introduced policies to help economically marginalised and vulnerable groups like the present administration,” Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity), stated.
