Aisha Buhari, the wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, on Tuesday, shared a press release claiming the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had ordered the recirculation of old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes.

Via her verified Twitter and Instagram pages, Aisha, at about 10:40 am, posted the statement seemingly issued by the CBN and signed by Osita Nwanisobi, Director, CBN Corporate Communications Department.

The bank has come out to disown the statement and dub it “fake news”.

The statement shared by the First Lady read, “Due to the current and unpleasant situation happening in Nigeria, in line with Mr. President [sic]. After having a closed [sic] meeting with him on the 20th of February, 2023, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed to ONLY reissue and recirculate the old N200, N500 and N1,000 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.”

Reacting, the CBN tweeted a copy of the statement with a watermark running across it. The watermark reads, “Fake News”.

The bank‘s last published press release was made on February 17, 2023.