Posted by From Josephine Lohor in Abuja on
President Olusegun Obasa-njo yesterday formally launched the new N1000 note, which is the last lap in the series of the approved higher denomination notes and challenged the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigeria Security Minting and Printing Company to brace up to added responsibility that would arise as Africa moves towards a common currency.
President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday formally launched the new N1000 note, which is the last lap in the series of the approved higher denomination notes and challenged the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigeria Security Minting and Printing Company to brace up to added responsibility that would arise as Africa moves towards a common currency.
Speaking during the launch of the N1000 note in Abuja yesterday, President Obasanjo, said the reforms embarked by his administration would touch on all aspects of national life.
'As we move towards a common currency in West Africa and towards a Central Bank of Africa, we should prepare to gear ourselves to the possibility of taking on added responsibility both in the work of our own Central Bank and in terms of the work of our Security Printing".
'When we talk of reform, we made it clear that it would be comprehensive and all-embracing. That no aspect of our national life will be left out. I know that part of the reform that we have called for is being pursued vigorously by the Central Bank. I know how much effort has gone into producing the N1000 note that we launched today.
"The security feature was my own special concern when we were talking about this and until I was satisfied that the security features are sufficiently formidable to make forging the new note almost impossible. The issue of being locally self-sufficient I production of notes and other security documents is being vigorously pursued", he said.
Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Charles Soludo, who handed copies of the note in albums to the President and Vice President Atiku Abubakar, disclosed that 'by the end of December 2006 all currencies and coins circulated in Nigeria will and must be produced by the Nigeria Security Printing and Minting including the N1000 notes".
Soludo, who led men and a woman of the Board of the CBN to the state House for the ceremony, disclosed that other currencies would also bear more modern features which the new note has, just like the Dollar and Euro, when the CBN embarks on currency restructuring which is presently on the table of discuss. He said that the new note is the only currency in the world that has a golden colour, just as it costs not more than N12 to print a piece, as compared to about N10 for the N500 note.
The CBN Governor also said that the new note would not cause inflation and it would be a 'nightmare' to produce fake ones, noted that 'the key features of the new N1000 note include the fact that the note has portraits of the first two indigenous Governors of the CBN, Alhaji Aliyu Mai Borno who was the first Nigeria Governor of the CBN between 1963 and1967, Dr. Clement Isong, 1967 to 75 who served at a critical time in the history of Nigeria. Both of them, now deceased, greatly contributed to what is today known as the Central Bank in terms of its history and growth".
Speaking further on some distinguishing features of the N1000 note, Soludo stated that 'the new note which marks a departure from the existing notes is that it is protected by a number of sophisticated security features.
Some of these security features are sensed by touch, others are visible to the naked eye. The note has been vanished and would help in prolonging its lifespan". It would be recalled that the first three new higher denominations were issued in 1999, 2000 and 2001 respectively in line with powers vested on the President in Section 19 of the CBN Act 1991 as amended and also in pursuance of Section 17 of the CBN Act 1991 as amended which confers on the CBN, the right and powers to issue legal tender notes and currencies in Nigeria.