Old N500, N1000 Notes No Longer Legal Tender, Says Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari says old N500 and N1,000 banknotes are no longer legal tender in Nigeria.

He, however, directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to release old N200 notes into circulation as legal tender for the next 60 days.

The President, who made this known in a nationwide broadcast on Thursday,  directed the CBN to allow the new notes available to all citizens.

The President apologised to Nigerians over the difficulty experienced in the implementation of the naira redesign policy.

“To further ease the supply pressure, particularly on our citizens, I have given approval to the CBN that the old N200 bank notes be released back into circulation and it should also be allowed to circulate as legal tender with the new N200, N500 and N1,000 bank notes for 60 days from February 10, 2023 to April 10, 2023 when the old N200 note ceases to be legal tender,” he said.

“In line with Section 20(3) of the CBN Act 2007, all existing old N1000 and N500 notes remain redeemable at the CBN and designated points.”

The President had on February 3 appealed to Nigerians to give him seven days to resolve the cash crunch after the Nigeria Governors’ Forum urged him to allow all old notes to circulate in the system to ease the hardship on ordinary Nigerians.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had extended the deadline for the swap of old N200, N500, and N1,000 from January 31 to February 10 following complaints by many Nigerians but the Supreme Court held that the Federal Government, the CBN, commercial banks must not continue with the deadline pending the determination of a notice in respect of the issue.