CBN maintains the deadline of January 31, outdated notes will no be accepted as legal cash in February 2023

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has insisted that January 31, 2023 will remain the cutoff date for the use of old notes in circulation despite worries about the dearth of new naira notes.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) stated on Facebook that “the current series of N200, N500, and N1,000 notes would remain legal tender until the deadline of January 31, 2023.”

Additionally, it stated on its Twitter account that the use of the old notes would not be extended past January 31 and advised Nigerians to make sure they deposited all of the old N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes they had in their possession before that date.

In the meantime, with 23 days left until the deadline, Nigerians have kept complaining about how the apex bank is managing the introduction of the new naira notes.

Investigations revealed that at a time when banks should be receiving old notes, over-the-counter cash transactions in banking rooms were still mostly conducted using old notes, including withdrawals. Old notes are distributed by all automated teller machines (ATMs).

During a public hearing on the CBN’s cashless policy implementation and the new withdrawal limits, Aisha Ahmad, the CBN’s deputy governor in charge of the stability of the financial system, informed the House of Representatives that the CBN had instructed the printing of 500 million new naira notes as part of the first contract.

Commercial banks were instructed to return existing denominations to the CBN, and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) stated on October 26, 2022 that higher denominations of the naira (N200, N500, and N1,000) would be redesigned and released into the economy on December 15, 2022.

On November 23 of last year, President Muhammadu Buhari revealed the new naira.