One customer, Ifeanyi Udenna, said he accepted the old notes because they were issued by a commercial bank and believed the information would be authentic. However, another customer, Eugenia Atah, collected N20,000 worth of old N1,000 notes from her bank but found that traders and restaurants refused to accept them.
The lack of clarity from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the status of the old notes adds to customers' confusion. Chris Idoko, a customer, appealed to the CBN to clarify their position to the public on the senior naira notes. He stated that while some banks were giving customers old letters, he refused to collect them as people had not started spending them, and nobody contained the senior notes in the market.
The CBN is yet to respond to the apex court judgment on the old notes. The apex court had nullified the ban on using old N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes, saying the notes remained legal tender until December 31. However, the need for clarity surrounding the status of the old messages is leading to hesitancy among customers and refusal by traders to accept them.
NAN checks at some banks in Abuja also revealed that customers were thronging banks to collect the old notes, indicating that some people are willing to use them despite the uncertainty. It remains to be seen how the CBN will clarify the status of the old notes and address the confusion among customers and traders.