CBN Extends Old Notes
The Central Bank of Nigeria just dropped a bombshell – the old N200, N500, and N1000 notes will stick around as legal tender even after December 31, 2023. Crazy, right?
They made this announcement through a press release by Dr. Isa Abdulmumin, the Director of Corporate Communications. Banks are going to keep dealing with both the old and redesigned banknotes. It seems like the Central Bank is hustling to sort out a court ruling that's hanging over these banknotes.
But here's the thing: back in February 2023, chaos hit the country when the Central Bank, led by the former Governor Godwin Emefiele, decided to redesign the currency and said the old notes would no longer be accepted. People freaked out because the new bills were super rare, and traders were like, "Nah, we don't want these old notes anymore."
It got so crazy that point-of-sale (POS) operators started charging insane fees – like, you had to cough up N5000 just to withdraw N10,000. No wonder everyone was losing their minds.
Now, with this new development, maybe things will chill out a bit. It's a rollercoaster of a situation, but at least the old notes won't turn into fancy paperweights anytime soon!
Watch the video short below