The CBN has informed the public of its desire to extend the legal tender status deadline of the old design of N200, N500 and N1,000 denominations, “ad infinitum”.

In a statement, the bank’s Director, Corporate Communications, Isa AbdulMumin, said the CBN branches in Nigeria will continue to issue and accept all denominations of the bank notes, old and redesigned, to and from deposit money banks (DMBs).

“All banknotes issued the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in accordance with Section 20(5) of the CBN Act 2007, will continue to remain legal tender, ad infinitum, even beyond the initial December 31, 2023, deadline.”

“The Central Bank of Nigeria is working with the relevant authorities to vacate the subsisting court ruling on the same subject. The general public is enjoined to continue to accept all Naira banknotes (old or redesigned) for day-to-day transactions and handle these banknotes with utmost care, to safeguard and protect the lifecycle of the banknotes.

“Also, the general public is encouraged to embrace alternative modes of payment, e-channels, for day-to-day transactions.”

Although naira scarcity is biting harder across the country as banks have limited cash withdrawals.

Residents of Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa and Adamawa and in other parts of the country had expressed concerns over their inability to withdraw huge cash in their banks, raising fears of scarcity as experienced during the naira swap.

This has also affected business transactions in local markets, especially in the northern part of Nigeria where buyers and sellers prefer to deal in cash instead of bank transfers.