CBN says it has ‘good quantity’ of scarce new naira notes

The Central Bank of Nigeria says it has continued to take delivery of redesigned naira notes even when the bills are hard to come by in the country.

The bank bungled its attempt to replace old 200, 500 and 1000 notes ahead of February and March general elections, taking out over N3 trillion from the economy but injecting less than half a trillion naira.

The shortage crushed businesses and left millions of citizens unable to get food and other basic supplies for more than a month.

Despite the clear shortages, the CBN refused to authorise the use of the old notes. It was only forced to backtrack after the organized labour, Nigeria Labour Congress, threatened strike in late March.

The economy has continued to reel from the impact of the policy, nonetheless, and very few new notes have remained in circulation, prompting questions about their availability.

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On Sunday, the central bank said reports that it plans to end the use of the old notes ahead of a December deadline given by a federal court, were untrue.

It said it has received “a good quantity” of the new notes from the government printing company. It did not say when it plans to introduce the new notes.

“We wish to reiterate that the old and new notes have been circulating side by side just as the Bank has been taking delivery of a good quantity of the redesigned bank notes from the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC) Limited,” spokesperson Isa AbdulMumin said in a statement.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the redesigned and old notes will continue to be accepted as legal tender. They will circulate side-by-side for transactions ahead of the December 31, 2023 deadline, when the old N1000, N500 and N200 notes will eventually be phased out.”