Nigeria’s central bank has said that the newly demonetized ₦200, ₦500 and ₦1,000 notes will remain legal tender until December 31, 2023. The central bank statement, reaffirming a Supreme Court ruling that extended the lifespan of demonetized naira notes, followed a rebuke of the CBN by outgoing Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari.
The silence of the Central Bank and the resulting speculation
The Central Bank of Nigeria finally issued a statement on March 13 reaffirming a Supreme Court ruling that extended the lifespan of recently demonetized naira notes. In the statement, the CBN said that the ₦200, ₦500 and ₦1,000 notes “would remain legal tender along with the redesigned notes until December 31, 2023.”
After the Nigerian Supreme Court ruled against the central bank’s decision to demonetize the old naira notes, the CBN did not initially issue a statement instructing banks and the public to accept the old notes. The silence of CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele as well as outgoing Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari reportedly sparked speculation that the central bank would not abide by the court’s decision.
PRESS RELEASE FROM THE STATE HOUSE
CHAIRMAN BUHARI NEVER TOLD THE AG AND CBN GOVERNMENT TO DEFY THE SUPREME COURT ORDER#Thread
— Nigerian Presidency (@NGRPresident) March 13, 2023
However, in what was described as a rare public rebuke by the CBN, the Nigerian presidency tweeted that Buhari had failed to instruct the “CBN Attorney General and Governor to disobey court orders involving the government and other parties.” He added that the CBN “has no reason not to comply with court orders under the excuse of waiting for the president’s directives.”
CBN’s ‘Established Tradition of Obedience to Court Orders’
Moments after Buhari’s rebuke, CBN stated in its own statement that it has always obeyed court decisions and will abide by the March 3 Supreme Court ruling as well.
“In keeping with the established tradition of obedience to court orders and upholding the Principle of the Rule of Law that characterized the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, and by extension, the operations of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as regulator, Deposit Se ordered money banks operating in Nigeria to comply with the Supreme Court ruling of March 3, 2023,” CBN said in a statement.
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