Naira redesign: We stick to Buhari’s directive – CBN debunks statement on Aisha’s page

By Ogaga Ariemu

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has debunked a press release alleged to be from the bank, shared on the Instagram account of the wife of the President, Aisha Buhari.

In the release shared on Aisha’s page on Tuesday, it was purported that the old N500 and N1000 naira notes should remain legal tender till May 1, 2023.

But in a swift reaction, the CBN shared a press statement, describing the one shared on Aisha’s page as “fake news.”

The statement read in part, “CBN Sticks to Presidential Directive to Reissue only 200 Naira Old Banknotes. The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria has been drawn to a FAKE PRESS RELEASE purported to have emanated from the Bank to the effect that President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the re-issuance and release of old N500 and N1000 notes as legal tender in the country.

“For the avoidance of doubt, and in line with Mr. President’s broadcast of February 16, 2023, the CBN has been directed to ONLY reissue and recirculates the old N200 banknotes and this is expected to circulate as legal tender for 60 days up to April 10, 2023.

“Members of the public should therefore disregard any message and/or information not formally released by the Central Bank of Nigeria on this subject.”

NewsDirecr reports that at the time of filing this report, the ‘fake’ release was still on Aisha Buhari’s account.