The Central Bank of Nigeria warned on Wednesday against rejecting any naira notes produced in accordance with the provisions of the CBN Act 2007.
The CBN made the announcement amid concerns that the old banknotes will no longer be legal tender by December 2023, prompting their rejection in some parts of the country.
This was said in a statement issued on Wednesday and signed by Dr. Isah Abdulmunin, CBN Director of Corporate Communication.
According to the statement, the apex bank has not ordered the removal of the old notes.
It said, “There have also been reports of anxiety among some members of the public over the legality or otherwise of old Naira banknotes.
“For the avoidance of doubt, while reiterating that there are sufficient banknotes across the country for all normal economic activity, we wish to state unambiguously that every banknote issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) remains legal tender and should not be rejected by anyone, as stipulated in Section 20(5) of the CBN Act, 2007.”
The CBN said it has directed all its branches across the country to continue to issue different denominations of old and redesigned banknotes in adequate quantities to deposit money banks (DMBs) for onward circulation to bank customers.
The apex bank said, “We wish to restate that all denominations of banknotes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) remain legal tender.
“In line with Section 20(5) of the CBN Act, 2007, no one should refuse to accept the Naira as a means of payment. Consequently, members of the public are advised to accept all CBN-issued banknotes currently in circulation and guard against panic withdrawals.”
The bank also reaffirmed that there is sufficient stock of currency notes to facilitate normal economic activities in the country.