Summary:

• The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has remained silent on a new Supreme Court ruling that extends the validity of old N200, N500 and N1000 notes to December 31, 2023, leaving Nigerians confused.
• Commercial banks are also unsure of how to proceed without confirmation from the apex financial institution.
• The ruling, which was critical of the naira swap policy, cited a lack of reasonable notice to Nigerians and has left uncertainty over the fate of the old notes.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which has been known to shutdown fake news within a day or less, has remained quiet on the new Supreme Court ruling that extends the validity of the old N200, N500, and N1000 notes to December 31, 2023.

Nigerians have remained in a sought of cash limbo since the development on March 3 2023. Even commercial banks appear to be confused as they have not received confirmation from the apex financial institution and cannot do anything otherwise until then.

You’ll recall that a similar thing occurred in early February after the Supreme Court gave a directive for the CBN to extend its deadline for the old Naira notes. At the time, Nigerians (and even some commercial banks) quickly sighed in relief and began making use of the notes until CBN came out to maintain its stand and confirmed that only the old N200 notes remained valid.

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According to local media outlets, the new judgment was passed by a seven-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice John Okoro. In the ruling, they called the naira swap policy wrong as it was not handled properly.

Citing Section 20 (3) of the CBN Act, a member of the panel, Justice Emmanuel Agim, said that Governor Godwin Emefiele did not give ‘reasonable notice’ to Nigerians. According to him, the press release was not the same as formal or public notice. He also recalled the President’s disregard for the court’s order, which was earlier mentioned.

Despite the strong language of the court, it is not yet clear what path to follow as many Nigerians no longer possess the old Naira notes in the first place. Will CBN redistribute the old Naira notes given the Supreme Court’s order? Have the old Naira notes been destroyed as rumors claim?

Now that the Presidential election has been concluded, and despite the disagreements over its results, Nigerians are back to focusing on the issue of scarce cash.

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