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Naira Redesign: Old N200 Notes Ordered By Buhari Constitute Only 9.2% Of Currency In Circulation

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February 18, 2023

President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the continued use of old N200 notes as legal tender till April 10, extending the deadline for the note by 60 days.

The old N200 notes constituted less than 10 percent of currency volume in circulation in the last seven years, reports have shown.

President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the continued use of old N200 notes as legal tender till April 10, extending the deadline for the note by 60 days.

That means the deadline for the old N500 and N1,000 notes remains February 10, 2023, despite the Supreme Court ruling temporarily suspending the deadline.

The old N200 notes will be used alongside the new N500 and N1,000 notes and other notes that were not changed.

However, findings by Dataphyte revealed that recirculating N200 notes will be a scratch in the pan as N200 notes constitutes only 9.191 percent of total currency volume in the last seven years.

The CBN in its annual economic report disclosed that the highest volume of N200 notes was circulated in 2021. During that year, 1.2 billion pieces of N200 notes were put into circulation by the apex bank.

This figure represented 11.48 percent of 10.687 billion pieces of currency notes of different denominations in circulation that year. In 2021, N1000 and N500 notes had the highest volumes in circulation, with 1.933 billion and 2.003 billion pieces, respectively.

In the seven years reviewed, the lowest number of N200 notes was recorded in 2015 when 401.63 million pieces were put into circulation. This year, N1000 and N500 have had the highest volumes in circulation, with 1.011 billion and 1.322 billion pieces, respectively.