News Agency of Nigeria -
CBN sensitises Nigerians on new notes, coins
Makurdi, Feb. 17, 2007 (NAN) The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has called on Nigerians not to abuse the new notes and coins that will be introduced on Feb. 28. A Deputy Governor in CBN, Dr Obadiah Mai-lafia, made this call in Makurdi today while addressing newsmen. Mia-Lafia said he was in Benue to sensitize the people on the newly-designed naira notes and coins and appealed to Nigerians to stop defacing the country's currency. He disclosed that the decision to replace the N50, N20, and N10 notes, as well as the conversion of N5 note into coin, was taken to check the currency abuse. He further said that the country's ailing economy was responding positively to measures designed to revive it. CBN -- 2 Mai-Lafia, who is in charge of Economic policy at CBN, described the rate of recovery of the country's economy as impressive. He stressed the need for Nigerians to support the federal government's economic reform programmes in order to speed up its growth. ''With a foreign reserve in excess of $40 billion, the country's economy is undoubtedly on the path of recovery. ''And CBN is providing the necessary advice and guidance to government in a bid to quicken the economy's pace of recovery,'' Mai-lafia said. He said some security features designed to check counterfeiting had also been introduced adding, "with the features, counterfeiting will be unattractive to currency fakers". CBN -- 3 He added that Nigerians had been given up to May 31, to replace the N50, N20 and N10 notes in their possession. The old notes, according to Mai-Lafia, would cease to be legal tender by June. He also told newsmen that the CBN had completed re-structuring of the Nigeria Security Minting and Printing Company (NSMPC), which it acquired recently. "The company is now handling 50 per cent of the country's currency minting needs, and efforts have being intensified to ensure that the country's currencies are minted locally,'' Mai-lafia said. (NAN) SY/IB/NO
