Nigerians can now heave a sigh of relief as some deposit money banks have started paying out the old N1,000 and N500 notes, following the Supreme Court judgment, which extended the validity of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) currency redesign policy to December, 2023.
According to DAILY TRUST checks, some commercial banks in the City of Kano and Abuja have commenced paying out the old N500 and N1000 notes.
Sources at GTB said they received a directive from their management to begin paying old notes in their vault.
“The problem is that taking the old notes from customers will require the CBN form as we don’t have any directive in that regard,” the source said.
Recall that in a unanimous judgement, a seven-member panel of justices presided by Justice Inyang Okoro, on Friday, held that the directive by President Muhammadu Buhari to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the redesigning and withdrawal of old notes of N200, N500 and N1,000, without consultation with the states, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and the National Council of State and other stakeholders, was unconstitutional.
The apex court observed that no reasonable notice was given before the implementation of the policy as provided under the CBN Act.
