CEM REPOERT, FINANCE | Nigerian Security Printing and Minting (NSPM) Plc also called MINT has allayed fears and concerns regarding the quality of the redesigned notes.
Various clips, skits, concerns and comments on diverse platforms have shown the notes losing colour when rubbed on white surfaces.
In a statement, the Managing Director, Ahmed Halilu, admitted that the new Naira notes lose their colours when rubbed on white surfaces, however noted that it does not indicate poor quality of the notes as perceived by Nigerians.
He explained that the new notes were of the same substrates as the existing ones and passed through the same printing processes and finishing procedures.
“It is, therefore, basically the same as the other notes in circulation,” he explained.
Furthermore, he added that “it is, however, important to note that new banknotes 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 (intaglio) 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.”
According to him, “international practices have been deployed in the production of our national symbol, the Naira, and we shall continue to ensure that it meets international standards”.
Halilu urged Nigerians and other users of the Naira banknotes not to subject the banknotes to experiments in order to prove a point noting that the Naira is the country’s legal tender and national symbol.
Moreover, he recalled that his company has been meeting the currency needs of Nigeria “with the support of the Central Bank of Nigeria since 2014 adding that Nigeria has achieved zero importation of currency, developed local capacity and, to an extent, conserved foreign exchange within this period,” and that it would maintain international standards in producing the Naira.
