CITIZENS COMPASS– THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Wednesday, announced that it will redesigned Naira notes for N200, N500 and N1000 respectively.
CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele said this at a press briefing in Abuja.
According to him, the new notes would be in circulation from December 15, 2022 and would also accommodate the old notes as legal tenders until January 21, 2023.
He cited hoarding of Naira notes as
the reason to redesign the notes.
“Significant hoarding of banknotes by members of the public, with statistics showing that over 80 percent of currency in circulation are outside the vaults of commercial banks.
“Worsening shortage of clean and fit banknotes with attendant negative perception of the CBN and increased risk to financial stability. Increasing ease and risk of counterfeiting evidenced by several security reports.”
“Indeed, recent development in photographic technology and advancements in printing devices have made counterfeiting relatively easier. In recent years, the CBN has recorded significantly higher rates of counterfeiting especially at the higher denominations of N500 and N1,000 banknotes.”
“On the basis of these trends, problems, and facts, and in line with Sections 19, Subsections a and b of the CBN Act 2007, the Management of the CBN sought and obtained the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari to redesign, produce, and circulate new series of banknotes at N100, N200, N500, and N1,000 levels.”
