Currency in circulation grew steadily from about ₦0.46T in 2002 to over ₦4T by 2024. The sharp dip in early 2023 — cash fell to ₦0.98T that February — was the CBN's Naira redesign policy, which pulled old notes back into banks before courts intervened and cash levels recovered.
This is the physical cash held outside the banking system. Its long-run growth tracks the expanding economy and money supply; sudden swings usually reflect policy shocks rather than underlying demand.
The marked dip in January 2023 is the redesign policy. Read the overall slope rather than month-to-month wiggles — the trend is a steady climb over more than two decades.
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What this shows: Physical Naira cash held outside banks. Up steadily from ₦0.46T in 2002 to over ₦4T by 2024, with a sharp temporary dip to ₦0.98T during the January 2023 note redesign.