CBN Officially Announces All Old Notes as Legal Tender After Buhari’s Criticism

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN has officially declared its alliance with the Supreme Court judgement on the recirculation of the old N500 and N1000 notes as legal tender.

The apex bank, in a statement signed by the Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Isa AbdulMumin on Monday, directed banks to uphold the validity of the old notes as pronounced by Nigeria’s highest court.

Investors King had earlier reported that on March 3, 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that the old naira notes remain as legal tender till December 31, 2023. However, Nigerians became confused when their banks rejected the old naira notes telling them that CBN is yet to issue a directive on the matter.

The CBN’s directive came after President Muhammadu Buhari criticised the CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami (SAN) for opposing the court judgement.

The President had said Emefiele has no excuse to disobey the supreme court saying that the CBN need not expect the president’s directive on the matter before complying with the ruling.

Buhari debunked the notion that he directed CBN governor and the Attorney-General to disobey the court order, reiterating his belief in democracy and prevalence of the rule of law.

The statement by the presidency read, “Since the President was sworn into office in 2015, he has never directed anybody to defy court orders, in the strong belief that we can’t practise democracy without the rule of law and the commitment of his administration to this principle has not changed.

“Following the ongoing intense debate about the compliance concerning the legality of the old currency notes, the Presidency, therefore, wishes to state clearly that President Buhari has not done anything knowingly and deliberately to interfere with or obstruct the administration of justice.

“The President is not a micromanager and will not, therefore, stop the Attorney General and the CBN governor from performing the details of their duties in accordance with the law. The directive of the President, following the meeting of the Council of State, is that the bank must make available for circulation all the money that is needed and nothing has happened to change the position.

After the open rebuke and dissociation on the naira saga by President Buhari, the CBN sent a directive to the commercial banks and alerted the citizens of its acceptance of the supreme court order after the long silence.

The CBN statement read, “In compliance with the established tradition of obedience to court orders and sustenance of the rule of law principle that characterised 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.”