Aisha Buhari, wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, on Tuesday shared a fake press release purportedly issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on her Instagram page.
The fake press release claimed President Buhari had directed the CBN to reissue and recirculate old N200, N500 and N1000 notes.
The poorly written statement Mrs Buhari shared read: “Due to the current and unpleasant situation happening in Nigeria, in line with Mr. president, after having a closed meeting with him on the 20th of February, 2023, Central Bank Of Nigeria (CBN) has been directed to ONLY reissue and recirculate the old N200, N500 and N1000 banknotes and this is expected to circulate as legal tender for 70 days up to May 1, 2023. Members of the public should therefore continue to spend the old notes. Media practitioners are advised to PLEASE spread out this helpful information to the public.”
Debunking the statement shared by Aisha Buhari, the CBN through its director of corporate communications Osita Nwanisobi advised Nigerians to beware of fake news.
The rebuttal from the CBN read: “The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria has been drawn to some fake and unauthorized messages quoting the CBN as having authorized the Deposit Money Banks to collect the old N200 and N1,000 Banknotes. 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 recirculate 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.
“Media practitioners are advised to PLEASE verify any information from the correct sources before publication.”
President Buhari had on Thursday last week ordered that the old N200 notes should remain legal tender until April 10.
The old N200 notes will coexist with the new N200 notes, the president said.
He, however, did not allow the continued use of the old N500 and N1,000 notes.
