Rejection Of Old Naira Notes Escalate Despite Supreme Court Order

Is being 5 days the Supreme Court declared that the old N500 and N1000 together with the N200 notes remain valid legal tenders till December 31, 2023 but bank customers have refused to accept the old N500 and N1000 notes.

VerseNews Nigeria reports that despite the court order that the old naira currencies remain in circulation, there is a nationwide rejection of the old notes by bank customers, transporters, business men and woman

The rejection of the old notes has been traced to the continued silence of the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the court judgment.

A customer in the bank who spoke to this Online News Media narrated that she made a withdrawer of N20,000 which she received in old N1000 but was rejected by her business partner when she wanted to pay for the goods she ordered.

A top bank official who spoke on condition of anonymity, said customers are insisting that there must be an official statement approving the old N500 and N1,000 notes as legal tenders before they can accept the notes.

DON’T MISS: Supreme Court Declares Old N200, N500, N1000 Notes Valid Till Dec 31

He said: “Everybody (customers) that came to my branch today rejected it (old N500, N1,000 notes). They said people are not collecting it, and I tried it. I gave somebody an N1,000 note to go to a popular restaurant in Lagos to buy me rice, but the restaurant rejected it. I gave another person N500 to use it to board a commercial bus to see if transporters will accept it. The person came back and said the commercial buses refused to collect it too.

“In the case of the old N200 banknote, the President spoke and everybody adhered to it. So why are they not speaking now? They (customers) said President Mohammadu Buhari or CBN Governor should say okay to the Supreme Court ruling.

“Unfortunately that is what they are even bringing for us here. We held a meeting and they said more notes are even coming, the N1,000 and N500.”

It was also gathered that banks have commenced paying N1000,000 withdrawal limit per  week to customers in old notes but most customers refused to accept the money.

“Yes, they even said we should be doing N20,000 per customer per day. That is what the circular our banks sent to us today said,” the bank official added.