NEW AND OLD NOTES ARE NOW ACCEPTED AS PAYMENT - CBN

After a new Supreme Court order, both the old and new naira notes are now considered lawful cash, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN) spokesman, Isa Abdulmumin.

According to Abdulmumin, banks have begun to issue both old and new notes to consumers at their different Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) terminals and over the counter.

Abdulmumin stated that Nigerians can now spend and collect both the old and new notes even if the CBN has not yet made a formal declaration on the subject.

He continued by saying that the central bank's directive to commercial banks to follow the supreme court's decision to extend the life of the old notes through the end of the year is simply an effort to make life easier for Nigerians.

The CBN spokesperson stated: "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."

Abdulmumin expressed concern about the continued rejection of the old notes by some traders and transporters.

The CBN spokesman said the old notes should not be rejected as they are still a valid means of exchange.

He added: "No. They can't reject it. It's all legal tender."

Remember how the issue around the CBN's naira redesign strategy led certain states to bring the federal government before the top court?

The Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara state governments requested the intervention of the supreme court in a lawsuit filed in February to extend the validity of the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes.

Following an ex parte application by the states, the court prohibited the CBN from enforcing the February 10 deadline on February 8.

It later asserted that the old notes were still valid currency while postponing the February 15 hearing in the complaint made against the CBN about the policy.

Nonetheless, the top court decided that the previous N200, N500, and N1,000 notes continue to be valid until December 31, 2023 in its final decision on the subject last week Friday.