On Wednesday, October 26, 2022, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele announced that new Naira notes to replace the N200, N500 and N1000 in circulation would be introduced. Emefiele announced that the new notes would start circulating December 15th and old notes would cease to be legal tender January 31st, 2023.
On Monday, November 21, 2022, President Buhari unveiled the new Naira notes in Abuja and as January 31st, 2023 drew close, Nigerians began experiencing difficulty accessing the new notes. ATMs across the country continued to dispense the old notes even after Nigerians had deposited those same notes to their respective banks, per the CBN directive.
