The Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN) in a press release dated the 14th of November 2023 has stated that the old naira notes of N200, N500 and N1000 denominations which was supposed to be phased out by 31st of December 2023 will infact remain valid forever.
It can be recalled that the court has indeed ordered that the old notes will expire on the 31st of December 2023 following a court dispute involving some states and FGN few months to the General elections.
The apex bank in its release stated that the organisation is working towards vacating the court order and advised the general public to continue using them.
It stated also that it will continue to issue the notes through the various branches of the bank.
The statement has sparked a debate among lawyers as to whether the CBN will be violating the order of court if it continues to issue the old notes after the court ordered 31st of December 2023.
During the case that gave rise to the order,lawyers were divided as to the status of CBN in the matter since it was not made a party. While some still believe that the CBN had no business complying with that order to extend the use of the old notes ab initio not being a party, some lawyers argued differently.
Another debate has come up as to whether the CBN’s release will amount to contempt of court if the order was not vacated or goes to no issue since the CBN wasn’t a party in the suit.
