The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has denied claims that it has directed commercial banks to recycle the old 500 and 1000 naira notes.
Aisha Buhari, the wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, on Tuesday, posted a statement saying that the CBN has ordered the recirculation of old notes on her Instagram page.
READ ALSO: Old notes of 500, 1000 Naira stop being valid, says Buhari
The CBN statement purportedly delivered by Mrs. Buhari was credited to Osita Nwanisobi, the Director of the CBN Corporate Communications Department.
Aisha Buhari’s post
A few hours later, CBN denied the claim and described it as ‘fake news’.
“Please beware of fake news,” CBN said in a tweet with an initial statement, saying the old 500 and 1000 notes have ceased to be legal as directed by Buhari.
BEWARE OF FAKE NEWS! pic.twitter.com/EZc6ygua3u
– Central Bank of Nigeria (@cenbank) February 21, 2023
Buhari in a national broadcast last Thursday ordered the CBN to only allow the old 200 naira notes and redesign the 200, 500 and 1000 naira notes to coexist.
The President said only the old 200 naira will remain valid until Monday, April 10.
He stressed that the redesign of the Naira was aimed at curbing inflation, and corruption, and promoting transparency of cash flow to all sectors of the Nigerian economy.
READ ALSO: Buhari orders CBN to release old ₦200 to coexist with new Naira notes
“I have given the approval to the CBN that the old N200 bank notes be released back into circulation and should also be allowed to circulate as legal tender with the new N200, N500, and N1000 notes within 60 days from February 10, 2023 to April 10, 2023,” he said. Buhari.
“In accordance with Section 20(3) of the CBN Act 2007, all existing old N1000 and N500 notes remain redeemable at the CBN and designated points.”
Buhari said he sympathized with Nigerians over the difficulty of accessing the new Naira notes.
“Let me assure Nigerians that our admin. will continue to evaluate its implementation with a view to ensuring that Nigerians are not burdened,” Buhari said. “In this regard, the CBN should ensure that the new notes become more available and accessible to citizens through banks.”