Old, New Naira Notes To Co-Exist Till Further Notice, Supreme Court Rules

The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the old N200, N500, and N1000 notes should stay with the new notes until further notice.

The apex court said that both old and new notes should keep being legal tender until the Federal Government sets up a process for their replacement or redesign after talking to relevant stakeholders.

In mid-November, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes would stay legal tender forever.

The Federal Government then asked the Supreme Court to give more time for old naira notes to stay in circulation as legal tender.

In an application by the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, the Federal Government asked the apex court to remove its March 3 order that the old naira notes should stay with the new notes till December 31, 2023.

The Federal Government said that if the Supreme Court did not agree to its request to give more time for old notes, the country could face another national, economic, and financial crisis like the one in the first quarter of the year when the naira redesign policy was being done under the former Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele.

It asked the court to let the old notes be used with the new notes until after it talks to stakeholders, saying that the economy could be in trouble again because some Nigerians have started keeping the old and new naira notes before the December 31st deadline.

In its ruling on Wednesday, the apex court said that old and new naira notes should stay together until further notice.