ICYMI…FACT CHECK: Has Nigerian govt announced new deadline for old naira notes?

CLAIM: The Federal Government has revealed a new deadline for the validity of old notes.

FULL TEXT

A blog post on rovingupdates.com is circulating with the claim that the federal government has revealed a deadline for which Nigerians can spend old N1000, N500, and N200 notes.

Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria, under the embattled former governor Godwin Emefiele, redesigned the three afore-listed naira notes while declaring the old notes invalid. The move led to a historic cash crunch around November 2022 to January 2023, which according to a report by the United Nations, crippled Nigeria’s economy. The situation also resulted in violent protests in many parts of the country, as many Nigerians took to the streets to protest the consequential hardship.

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The Supreme Court had ordered, in March that the old notes remain valid until December 31, 2023. As this date draws near, Nigerians are wondering what will happen to the old notes that are still largely in circulation.

According to the blogpost being checked, the Federal Government has announced a new deadline.

VERIFICATION

While the headline of the post claims that the federal government has announced a new deadline, the body of the post did not mention any deadline, at best, it contained some disjointed statements unconnected to the headline.

Secondly, Ripples Nigeria found that the Federal Government has not announced a new deadline, and it is only the CBN that is empowered to do that if the matter were not in court.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has approached the Supreme Court again to seek an extension of the December 31, 2023 deadline. The Attorney General of the Federation, in the application, said the CBN has not been able to print more naira notes due to economic crisis; he added that the new notes available were not enough to phase out the old ones.

The Supreme Court has fixed November 30 to hear the application.

Also, the CBN, in a statement issued on November 14, said the old notes would remain legal tender indefinitely.

CONCLUSION

The Federal Government has not announced a new deadline for the validity of old naira notes.

By Olúwatóbi Ọdé̩yínká

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