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On 2 December 1991 the CBN replaced the 50-kobo and ₦1 notes with coins and reissued ₦5, ₦10, ₦20 and introduced a new ₦50 note (Lord Lugard amalgamation centenary motif).
Coin Decimal1991· Babangida· Chapter I · Money
50k and ₦1 reissued as coins
Lower denominations re-minted as coins; ₦5, ₦10, ₦20, ₦50 introduced as paper.
2 December 1991
₦50
Issued the year 50k and ₦1 were demoted to coins — the first formal admission that the low end had died.
What it bought
₦50 in 1991 bought a 25kg bag of rice.
Worth today
₦50 of 1991 ≈ ₦17,800 in 2026 money.
What it cost — political & economic reality
The political and economic reality
Nigeria in 1991: who was in charge, the cabinet of the day, the GDP, and the crises that defined the period.
Military President
Gen. Ibrahim Babangida
1985–1993
National reality
Structural Adjustment Programme from 1986 — devaluation of the naira, deregulation, austerity that has, in real terms, never been recovered. Dele Giwa murdered by parcel bomb (1986). Annulled the 12 June 1993 election.
Crises of the period
- SAP 1986
- Dele Giwa assassination (1986)
- Orkar coup attempt (1990)
- Annulment of June 12, 1993
GDP (World Bank)
$30 bn (1985) → $15 bn (1993, post-SAP devaluation)
Cabinet (selected portfolios)
- Education
Prof. A. Babs Fafunwa (1990–92)
- Finance
Chu Okongwu; Olu Falae; Kalu Idika Kalu
Sources · Federal Military Government Gazette 1985–93 · CBN
Methodology
Tier 1 · primary
Courts. Gazettes. National archives.
Tier 2 · corroborating
OCCRP. HRW. BudgIT. TheCable.
Tier 4 · tertiary, flagged
Wikipedia only where primary is pending. Always labelled.