It said the decision was taken because of the huge volume of counterfeit notes in circulation.
The apex bank also said that it initiated the move to save the economy from sinking when it realised 85 percent of notes are outside the banking system.
Speaking during the 2022 workshop for finance correspondents in Nigeria in Port Harcourt, with the theme: boosting depositors’ confidence amidst emerging issues and challenges in the banking industry, the Director of Currency Operations in the CBN, Ahmed Umar, stated the government did not repaint the banknotes but redesigned them to curb counterfeiting and other security challenges.
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Stating that the new denominations of notes are laced with security features to ward-off counterfeiters, Umar, who was represented by Amina Giwa, said: “We redesigned, not repainted the banknotes. In redesigning you can change colour or reduce the size. The ink is a newer technology with security features. The main purpose for redesigning was to solve a problem, and we had limited time to solve that problem or we would sink. We don’t care about aesthetics.
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“Only Nigeria Security does the printing. We print in Nigeria – Lagos and Abuja. We don’t print outside the country. We fly notes by air and other means to states, which has huge logistical implications.”
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