The Managing Director of the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting (NSPM) Plc, Ahmed Halilu, says the recently redesigned naira banknotes – N200, N500, and N1,000 – passed through the same printing processes as the others in circulation.
The MINT MD, in a statement on Friday, addressed concerns associated with the quality of the redesigned banknotes.
“The NSPM Plc has been meeting the currency needs of Nigeria with the support of the Central Bank of Nigeria since 2014. Indeed, Nigeria has achieved zero importation of currency, developed local capacity and, to an extent, conserved foreign exchange within this period,” Halilu said.
“We want to inform all Nigerians that the new Naira notes are of the same substrates and passed through the same printing processes and finishing procedures. It is, therefore, basically the same as the other notes in circulation.”
He described the company as the nation’s foremost security printing and minting company saddled with the responsibility of producing the country’s currency.
Speaking of the physical qualities of the new banknotes, Halilu explained that the bills are generally light when issued, then become heavier in circulation on getting in contact with dirt and moisture.
“In addition, the second stage of currency printing (lIntaglio) requires a heavy deposit of special inks with fairly large particles to give a tactile feeling of the portraits as well as other raised prints by way of design.
“One of the properties of intaglio inks is non-solubility in water and ease of transfer (light stain) on plain white materials owing to the size of the particles. This is generally a security feature of all banknotes that easily differentiates them from forged or counterfeited notes,” he said.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, on October 26, 2022 announced the redesign of the three banknotes, saying the new and existing currencies will remain legal tender and circulate together until January 31, 2023.
The apex bank argued that the redesigned notes will limit cash in circulation and therefore restrict the deplorable activities of ransom-demanding kidnappers as well as politicians set on rigging the upcoming elections.
President Muhammadu Buhari, in November, unveiled the redesigned naira notes as proposed by the CBN, marking the first time in 19 years since Nigeria’s last currency redesign.
See the full statement below: