Kunle Kalejaye
16 February 2017, Sweetcrude, Lagos — Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN has reiterated that the prevalence of counterfeit notes in Nigeria from January to December 2016 was less than one percent, (0.0014 percent) or 14 counterfeit pieces out of one million bank notes.
CBN’s Ag. Director, Corporate Communication, Mr. Isaac Okorafor admitted that no currency in the world is immune from counterfeiting, stressing that the rate of counterfeiting in Nigeria has been very minimal due to appropriate policies put in place by the Bank.
“Indeed, our records at the Bank clearly indicate that the prevalence of counterfeit notes in Nigeria from January to December 2016 was less than one percent (0.0014%) or 14 counterfeit pieces out of one million bank notes,” Okorafor said.
He added: “In line with our core value of proactivity, we have always endeavoured to use strong security features to make it difficult for dishonest persons to counterfeit the currency. In addition to that, we have carried out periodic massive nation-wide enlightenment of Nigerians on easy identification of fake banknotes and the reporting of such.
“We, therefore, find it rather curious that a former high-ranking official of the
CBN would make such bogus and unauthentic claims apparently calculated to destroy confidence in our national currency and sabotage the collaborative
efforts of the CBN and the Federal Government at ensuring an enduring stability of the financial system.
“We also work constantly with relevant security agencies to monitor and check the activities of counterfeiters.”
Okorafor urged members of the public to disregard the false alarm raised over fake currency, be wary of the activities of counterfeiters and report any case of counterfeiting to the police and their banks.