The policy advisory council of President Bola Tinubu has recommended an extension of the validity of the old Nigerian currency notes until December 31, 2024, in light of the current economic situation. The council also proposed a gradual phase-out of the old notes on a monthly basis.
The council’s recommendation was presented in a report titled “Policy Advisory Council Report: National Economy Sub-committee.” It suggests extending the deadline for the old notes from December 31, 2023, to December 31, 2024, if necessary. Additionally, it proposes introducing new notes through deposit money banks at a rate of 5% per month while withdrawing the old notes at the same rate over a period of 12-18 months.
In October 2022, the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, announced a plan to redesign the naira with the aim of controlling money supply and aiding security agencies in combating illicit financial flows. The redesigned naira notes were unveiled on November 23, 2022, and the deadline for the validity of the old notes was initially set for January 31, 2023. However, due to widespread protests and criticism of the policy’s implementation, the deadline was later extended to February 10.
On March 3, a Supreme Court ruling invalidated the naira redesign policy introduced by the CBN. The court held that the old N200, N500, and N1000 notes would remain legal tender until December 31, 2023. In compliance with the court order, the CBN instructed commercial banks to accept the old notes as legal tender until the specified deadline.
During his presidential campaign, President Tinubu expressed that he did not oppose the naira redesign policy in principle. However, in his inaugural speech on May 29, 2023, he promised to revisit the demonetization policy of the CBN, stating that it had been too harshly implemented and affected a significant number of unbanked Nigerians. He emphasized that his administration would review the policy and, in the meantime, consider both the old and redesigned currencies as legal tender.
