President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the reintroduction of the old N200 note as legal tender alongside the newly introduced redesigned notes until April 10. The president gave the approval in a nationwide broadcast Thursday in Abuja. This is conflicting with the Supreme Court’s ruling that old N200, N500 and 1000 remain legal tender until the suit challenging the Central Bank of Nigeria and Federal government cash swap policy is determined by it. The suit was brought by Kogi, Zamfara and Kaduna, five other states have also joined in. Buhari said in his broadcast against the backdrop of protests in a number of States that the approval of the N200 old note was necessitated by the need to cushion the hardship experienced by citizens.” I similarly consulted widely with representatives of the State Governors as well as the Council of State. Above all, as an administration that respects the rule of law I have also noted that the subject matter is before the court of our land and some pronouncements had been made.” To further ease the supply pressure particularly to our citizens, I have given approval to the CBN that the old N200 bank note be released back into circulation and that should also be allowed to circulate as a legal tender with the new N200, N500 and N1,000 bank notes for 60 days from Feb. 10, 2023, to April 10, 2023, when the old N200 ceases to be legal tender.” In line section 20 sub-section 3 of the CBN Act 2007, all the existing old N1,000 and N500 notes remain redeemable at CBN and designated points.” The president, who listed the advantages of the ongoing financial reforms embarked upon by the apex bank, challenged the citizens to make their deposits of the old notes by taking advantage of the platforms and windows being provided by the CBN.
According to him, he has since directed the CBN to deploy all legitimate resources and legal means to ensure that citizens are adequately educated on the new policy, enjoy easy access to cash withdrawal through availability of appropriate amounts of currency and ability to make deposits. He also directed the CBN to intensify collaboration with anti- corruption agencies in checking the activities of those who were bent on sabotaging the smooth implementation of the new Naira redesign policy. He reassured that the government would continue to assess the implementation of the policy with a view to ensuring that Nigerians are not unnecessarily burdened while urging the CBN to ensure the availability of the new Naira notes across the country. The president, who called for more understanding from the citizens, reiterated the commitment of his administration to handover a financially stable economy to the incoming administration on May 29, 2023.
