The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday said the N1,000, N500, and N200 notes will cease to be legal tenders after February 10 deadline.
Director of Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi, in a statement, said the affected banknotes “can no longer be used for any form of transaction afterwards”.
However, he said after February 10, Nigerians “have the opportunity to redeem the face value of the Naira only at the Central Bank”.
The redemption of the face value of banknotes, he said, “will be subject to meeting certain conditions” in line with Section 20(3) of the CBN Act.
The CBN said Nigerians would not lose their money but urged “citizens to take advantage of the extended deadline of February 10, 2023, to deposit the old banknotes currently in their possession at their banks or through mobile money agents”.
The CBN emphasised that banknotes that cease to be legal tender are only redeemable by a monetary authority upon demand subject to conditions /processes as may be prescribed by the Central Bank.
The CBN urged citizens to adopt other payment channels for their transactions, stressing that “Nigeria’s payment system is robust enough and ranks amongst the first in the world”.