CBN calms fears of naira scarcity, assures continued use of old and new notes

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said it has directed all its branches across the country to continue to issue different denominations of old and redesigned banknotes in adequate quantities to deposit money banks (DMBs) for onward circulation to bank customers.

The CBN also cautioned that all bank notes issued by it remain legal tender.

This was contained in a statement signed by Isa AbdulMumin, CBN Director of Corporate Communications, on Wednesday.

In the statement, the CBN tried to douse fears over possible scarcity of cash in some major cities across the country as the December deadline for the transition to the new naira policy nears.

The clarification became necessary following recent panic that there
could be currency scarcity, despite the apex bank’s assurances of sufficient cash stocks in all locations across the country.

There have also been reports of anxiety among citizens over the legality or otherwise of old Naira banknotes.

“For the avoidance of doubt, while reiterating that there are sufficient banknotes across the country for all normal economic activity, we wish to state unambiguously that every banknote issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) remains legal tender and should not be rejected by anyone, as stipulated in Section 20(5) of the CBN Act, 2007,” the CBN noted in the statement.

“Accordingly, branches of the CBN across the country have been directed to continue to issue different denominations of old and redesigned banknotes in adequate quantities to deposit money banks (DMBs) for onward circulation to bank customers.”

Read also FG’s borrowing from CBN still exceeds limit

“We wish to restate that all denominations of banknotes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) remain legal tender. In line with Section 20(5) of the CBN Act, 2007, no one should refuse to accept the Naira as a means of payment. Consequently, members of the public are advised to accept all CBN-issued banknotes currently in circulation and guard against panic withdrawals. We reaffirm that a sufficient stock of currency notes facilitates normal economic activities.

“Furthermore, to reduce the pressure on the use of physical cash, members of the public are again advised to continue to embrace alternative modes of payment,” it added.