Business
JUST IN: At Last, CBN Breaks Silence, Says Old Naira Notes Remain Legal Tender Till December
The Central Bank of Nigeria has directed commercial banks to dispense and receive old naira notes as legal tender across the country.
The CBN gave the directive at a Bankers’ Committee meeting held on Sunday, according to a statement by the Acting Director, CBN Corporate Communications, Isa AbdulMumin, on Monday.
This is coming hours after the Presidency Monday evening said the CBN had no reason not to comply with the ruling of the Supreme Court on the naira redesign policy.
It stated that the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), did not instruct the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, and the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, to disobey “any court orders involving the government and other parties.”
The PUNCH reports that over one week after the court handed down the order, the AGF and the CBN have kept mum over the verdict. Their silence has emboldened Nigerians and businesses to reject the old notes as legal tender.
Meanwhile, state governments, which sued the Federal Government on the naira redesign policy, have given the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, and the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, till Tuesday to comply with the order of the Supreme Court on the currency.
The state governments threatened to file contempt charges against the two top officials on Tuesday should they fail to obey the apex court which ordered that the old N1,000, N500 and N200 should be in circulation alongside the new notes till December 31, 2023.
The PUNCH reports that the apex court had ordered that the old naira notes be allowed to circulate side by side the new notes until December 31, 2023.
A seven-man panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice John Okoro gave the judgment. Other justices that sat on the case are Emmanuel Agim, Amina Augie, Mohammed Garba, Ibrahim Saulawa, Adamu Jauro and Tijanni Abubakar.
In the judgment delivered by Justice Agim, the apex court held that Buhari breached the constitution in the manner he issued directives for the redesigning of the naira.
On the disobedience of the Supreme Court’s earlier order on the new notes, Justice Agim said Buhari’s broadcast of February 16, 2023 that only the N200 note should remain legal tender made the country’s democracy look like a mere pretension.
Justice Agim stated, “Let me consider the issue of the President’s disobedience of the 8-2-2023 interim order that the new and old versions of naira notes continue to circulate as legal tender until the determination of the pending application for interlocutory injunction. It is not in dispute that the 1st defendant refused to obey the said order.
READ ALSO: Naira: CBN Has No Reason To Disobey Court Orders — Presidency
“The President’s 16-2-2023 national broadcast reproduced here in pages 27-31 demonstrates this disobedience. In disobedience of the order, he directed that only the old N200 naira notes be re-circulated. Interestingly, there is nothing to show the implementation of even that directive. I agree with the 9th plaintiff that the 1st defendant is not entitled to be heard by this court when it has effused to respect the authority of this court and the authority of law from which the authority of the President and the government of Nigeria derives.
“The rule of law upon which our democratic governance is founded becomes illusory if the President of the country or any authority or person refuses to obey the orders of courts. The disobedience of orders of courts by the President in a constitutional democracy as ours is a sign of the failure of the constitution and that democratic governance has become a mere pretension and is now replaced by autocracy or dictatorship.”
Details later…
Business
CBN Directs Nigerian Banks To Withdraw Misleading Advertisement
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed Nigerian banks, payment service banks and other financial institutions to immediately withdraw all advertisements that violate consumer-protection rules.
The directive, issued in a circular dated Thursday and signed by Olubunmi Ayodele-Oni, director of the CBN’s compliance department, followed a review of marketing practices in the financial sector.
The apex bank said the assessment revealed inconsistencies in how institutions apply disclosure, transparency and fair-marketing requirements.
READ ALSO:CBN Retains Interest Rate At 27%
The CBN ordered the removal of all non-compliant adverts and warned that future promotional materials must be factual, balanced and transparent.
It banned misleading claims, exaggerated benefits, incomplete information, unaudited financial results and comparative language that could de-market competitors.
The regulator of Nigeria’s financial sector also prohibited chance-based promotional inducements such as lotteries, prize draws and lucky dips.
Accordingly, institutions submitting adverts for prior notification must now include campaign timelines, creative materials, target audience details and written confirmation of internal legal and compliance clearance, along with proof that the underlying product has CBN approval.
READ ALSO:JUST IN: EFCC Summons Ex-AGF Malami For Questioning
The bank clarified that such notifications are only for monitoring and do not amount to approval.
All affected institutions must file a compliance attestation within 30 days, signed by the chief executive and compliance leads.
The CBN added that beginning January 2026, it will conduct a follow-up review and apply sanctions for violations under BOFIA 2020 and the Consumer Protection Regulations.
Business
Fourteen Nigerian Banks Yet To Meet CBN’s Recapitalisation Ahead Of Deadline
No fewer than 14 Nigerian commercial banks are yet to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria’s recapitalisation requirement as the 31st March 2026 deadline inches closer.
This follows CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso’s announcement on Tuesday that sixteen Nigerian banks have met their recapitalisation requirement ahead of the apex bank’s March 2026 deadline.
DAILY POST reports that Cardoso disclosed this in a statement after the bank’s 303rd Monetary Policy Committee in Abuja.
According to Cardoso, the development indicates that there is financial soundness in the country’s financial banking system.
READ ALSO:CBN Retains Interest Rate At 27%
MPC had been urged by banks to ensure a successful implementation of the recapitalisation process.
“The committee noted with satisfaction the sustained resilience of the banking system, with most financial soundness indicators remaining within regulatory thresholds,” Cardoso said.
“Acknowledged the substantial progress in the ongoing recapitalisation programme, with 16 banks achieving full compliance with the revised capital requirements.
“The committee thus urged the Bank to ensure a successful implementation and conclusion of the programme, among other domestic developments,” Cardoso said.
READ ALSO:Account For N3tn Or Face Legal Action, SERAP Tells CBN
This means that two additional Nigerian banks have been added to the list of banks which have complied with the apex bank recapitalisation requirement in the last two months.
Recall that Cardoso, in the 302nd MPC meeting, announced that only fourteen banks have met the recapitalisation requirement.
CBN records as of 2024 showed that the country has thirteen commercial banks, five merchant banks and seven financial holdings companies.
Earlier, a report emerged that Access Bank, Zenith Bank, GTBank, Wema Bank, Jaiz Bank, Stanbic IBTC, and others have already met CBN’s recapitalisation requirement.
CBN in March directed commercial banks with international authorisation to increase their capital base to N500 billion, while those with national licences must raise to N200 billion.
Business
CBN Retains Interest Rate At 27%
The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria has voted to retain the benchmark interest rate at 27 per cent.
CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, announced the decision on Tuesday following the apex bank’s 303rd MPC meeting in Abuja.
Cardoso stated that the committee also resolved to keep all other monetary policy indicators unchanged.
READ ALSO:CBN Issues Directive Clarifying Holding Companies’ Minimum Capital
He noted that the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) remains at 45 per cent for commercial banks and 16 per cent for merchant banks, while the 75 per cent CRR on non-TSA public sector deposits was equally maintained.
Cardoso added that the Liquidity Ratio was retained at 30 per cent, and the Standing Facilities Corridor was adjusted to +50/-450 basis points around the Monetary Policy Rate.
The decision comes as Nigeria records its seventh consecutive month of declining inflation, which eased to 16.05 per cent in September 2025.
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