Nigeria’s Currency in Circulation, CIC, dipped by 235.03 percent to 982.09 Billion at the end of February 2023 from 3.29 trillion announced by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, in October 2022 on the heels of the Naira redesign Policy.
The latest figures from the apex bank showed that 2.3 trillion had been withdrawn from circulation from October 2022 to February 2023.
One of the justifications CBN gave for its cashless Policy implementation was because of too much cash in circulation, which led to the redesigning of N200, N500, and N1000.
The policy implementation resulted in acute naira scarcity and prolonged hardship for Nigerians, not until back-peddled by authorizing the use of the old notes in line with the Supreme Court’s ruling validating its acceptance till December 31.
According to the CBN on Saturday, March 18, 2023, the currency in circulation moved from N3.16 trillion to N3.29 trillion and N1.38 trillion in November 2022, December 2022, and January 2023, respectively.
In perspective, currency-in-circulation is defined as currency outside the central bank’s vaults; that is, all legal tender currency in the hands of the public and in the vaults of the Deposit Money Banks.
It’s Final: ‘Old N200, N500, N1000 Naira Notes Have Ceased To Be Legal Tender’ – CBN Insists
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has declared that the old N200, N500, and N1000 have ceased being legal tender since February 10, 2023.
CBN had originally fixed January 31 as deadline for old notes to be in circulation but extended it in response to pressure from Nigerians.
However, before the February 10 deadline, Kogi, Kaduna, and Zamfara States approached the Supreme Court, seeking that the CBN be restrained from going ahead with the deadline.
The Court answered their prayer and adjourned the case till February 15.
However, there has been silence on the part of the apex bank since the court gave its ruling.
The silence threw Nigerians into confusion on the state of the old notes, which were widely rejected but accepted in some places.
Commenting on the development in a chat with journalists, CBN Branch Controller in Bauchi, Haladu Idris Andaza, said the old notes were no longer legal tender.
“In the last 24 hours, we have been inundated by questions from various angles of the general public about our operational guidelines on the old currency notes, be that as it may, there are so many questions here and there which people have been asking about.”
“So for the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state categorically that CBN is ready and is opened to receive all of those old notes based on certain conditions and criteria. Customers are free to come to the Bank and deposit which they cannot do at the Commercial Banks anymore because the currency has seized to be a legal tender since the 10th of this month.
“Consequently, the management of the CBN decided that those customers will have a sigh of relief by coming to the offices of the CBN in all the 36 states in the Federation including FCT to deposit their money.
“The customer has to go to the CBN portal and fill a form in the portal, there will be a form there concerning this currency redesign and exchange. After filling the form, you generate a code, you either print it or come with it in your mobile phone, give us the code and the information contained therein. In the form, you are expected to provide all the basic information about yourself, your account details, and the amount you want to deposit.”
“By the time you have done it correctly, you come to the CBN where the code will be accepted from you as well as the money, process and confirm the genuineness or otherwise of the money to avoid receiving fake notes because there are some fake notes in circulation now.”
Source: Daily Post
