The Supreme Court has this Friday, March 3, 2023, ruled that the old naira notes are to remain legal tender until December 31, 2023.
Recall that the CBN had, in November 2022, announced plans to redesign the naira while giving January 31, 2023, as the deadline for the use of the old notes as legal tender. Nigerians were, however, unable to access the new notes as the deadline approached, leading to long queues at banks.
The CBN would later extend the deadline to February 10, 2023, even as 16 state governors took the apex bank to court over the naira redesign policy. On President Muhammadu Buhari announced that ₦500 and ₦1,000 naira notes would not remain legal tender while directing the CBN to release old ₦200 notes to the public, a move that has done little to improve the cash shortage in the country.
Justice Emmanuel Agim, delivering the judgement declared that the redesign of the naira was done without consulting the National Council of States, Federal Executive Council (FEC) and the National Economic Council (NEC), adding that it breached the fundamental human rights of Nigerians in the process.
